Death By Aptonoth 0
by HyperBrachydios
Summary: A collection of stories in the lives of the characters from before 1345.
1. 1-1, First Meeting

**1333**

Loc Lac, a desert city. There was a time when it had been bustling with popularity, but those days had long since passed.

It was undeniably far worse off now.

Everyone struggled on with their lives. The streets were filled with abandoned children, trying their hardest to survive.

For all of them, their means of survival was different. Of the four that are important to this story: one relied on a group while another relied on just one other life, one relied on his own strength while another hid in the shadows.

* * *

Zach walked down a street, in search of whatever he could find. He thought back to what had led him here.

He had been left on his own for about as long as he could remember, he wasn't even sure how he survived the early parts of his life. But one thing was clear. He was powerless. They all were. So to survive, they had to band together.

The leader of his group was Dan. The oldest of them. He was reliable and always seemed positive. So all of them went along with that. They didn't need to worry, as long as he was there.

As you could expect, this fell apart.

It was an incredibly cold winter. They were gathered in one place, eating whatever they could find.

Zach was starving. It was obvious, no matter how much he tried to hide it.

Dan walked up to him.

"Yer hungry, aren't ya?"

"No, I'm not."

His stomach rumbled.

"Just take this." Dan handed him his food.

"But what are ya gonna eat?"

"That's not important."

"Yeah it is, yer our leader."

"It's cause I'm the leader that I'm doin' it. If I don't look out for ya then what's the point?"

"...Fine."

Dan died a few weeks later.

It was from illness, not hunger. Dying from hunger because you gave someone else food would've been far too virtuous for any person, even if they're a leader.

After that, the group ended up going their own ways. Without a strong leader, there was nothing holding them together, so a few weeks later it completely fell apart.

Zach now continued to wander these streets alone. Despite this, he still looked up.

"I've gotta become a good leader like Dan. If I was just good enough, things wouldn't have fallen apart. So I've gotta be like him. Always brave, always selfless, always looking out for others. I can't be anything else."

He continued down this road, in search of anything to lead.

* * *

At the same time, another boy continued down the road, hiding some food he stole.

Joseph had to take more than most since he was also supporting Daimyo. It was a problem, but without that monster he couldn't live, so he didn't have a choice.

Walking towards him was a boy with bruises all over his face.

Growing up here, Ben came to understand one thing.

Whoever's stronger gets what they want.

A few hours ago, he found himself getting kicked out of where he usually slept by some older kids.

He also understood that to survive he had to be stronger than everyone.

They were shocked when he tried to fight them, but his wild attacks weren't able to do anything about the advantage in numbers and size.

He was severely beaten afterwards. By the time he woke up he found he was starving, so he started to look for food, trying to ignore the pain.

He spotted Joseph, obviously hiding something.

"I ain't got anything on me." Joseph told him.

"I didn't even get to ask. How scared are ya? Though yer not wrong about what I'm plannin', hand it over."

"No, I can't. I need it."

"Look, I'm in a bad mood. But I'll be nice. Gimme half and I'll let ya go."

"No."

"Yer hiding a shitton, give me some at least. How fat are ya!?"

"Shut up!"

Ben got frustrated and threw a punch, which Joseph was too slow to dodge. Joseph was knocked back and took a second to process the situation before trying to fight back on his own.

* * *

Their battle was observed from out of sight.

Callum was nowhere near as brave as them. He wanted to stand out, to be like those heroes he'd heard about. But no matter how he looked at it, it was impossible for him.

That's what he learned after surviving this long. So, he was going to use that to his advantage here.

"Wait, stop a second!" Joseph yelled.

"No!"

"The food's gone!"

"Wait, what?"

"I said it's gone."

"..."

"That means neither of us have it."

"Ah!"

They both then started glancing around, spotting a boy running away.

"Stop!" They both yelled in unison, causing Callum to freeze up in fear. They took advantage of this to rush him.

By the time Zach showed up, all he found was three boys fighting. Two were being aggressive, the other was just sort of caught up in things.

"Hey, what are ya all doing?"

They didn't stop.

"Hey, what are ya all doing?" He repeated slightly louder.

They were still going, not even having heard him. Zach emitted a frustrated sound, his dramatic entrance ruined.

He moved closer to try and stop the fight himself, but as he did what they were fighting over ended up slipping out of the hands of the group and fell onto the ground nearby.

"It's still fine." Joseph thought aloud, before it was taken by a passing Felyne who scampered out of sight instantly.

A long silence, before Joseph and Ben started fighting again.

"Oi, cut it out already!" Zach yelled, punching them both.

Ben got ready to punch back, but realised this was a new person.

"The hell do ya want?"

"Yer names."

"No way, this one's mine." Joseph answered "Get yer own."

"No I mean like… what are yer names?"

"Callum." The one who was currently lying on the ground answered without hesitation.

The one who had been the target from the start went along with this. "Joseph."

The most aggressive one there looked around awkwardly, before not really being able to refuse anymore. "Ben."

"Got it. Oh, and I'm Zach. Now that we're all gathered, wanna join my plan?"

"What plan?" Joseph asked.

"The plan to get enough food for all of us to survive."

The other boys didn't have a reason to refuse.

This began the adventures of the group.


	2. 1-2, More Meetings

**1340**

The group of five made their way forwards as always. Today, they found themselves passing by the beach.

"I'm tired of walking." Complained Joseph "Let's take a break."

"We've only been going for half an hour." Zach pointed out.

"Yeah. What's yer point?"

"Just stick with it, yer gonna be fine."

Joseph didn't respond, just made an annoyed face, before collapsing onto Daimyo's back.

"Just carry me. I can't walk anymore."

Daimyo tried to push him off but Joseph refused. He eventually gave up and continued with his very lazy partner on his back.

Ben took this in.

"Can I get a ride too?"

"No."

"Why?"

"There's only room for one, you'd make it too heavy anyways. Also he's my partner, not yours. Get your own." Daimyo clicked his claws in vague agreement, now getting used to carrying Joseph around.

Ben's first instinct was to slam them both into the ground, but he somehow resisted.

A few hours later, Callum suddenly froze. The rest were confused, not sure where he was pointing.

"Isn't that a Plesioth over there?"

They studied the monster. A scaled wyvern on two legs, with webbed feet and wings. The blank eyes stared back at them.

"Seems like it." Joseph agreed.

Zach paused. "Wait, something feels off."

"What?"

"Ain't Plesioth supposed to be… way bigger?"

"Dunno."

"Neither do I. But this one's only a little larger than us, so uh…" Zach cut off his own thinking aloud "Where's Ben?"

"He should be right next to- no he ain't. Um…"

Callum pointed again. The others spotted Ben sprinting at the monster, carving knife in hand, laughing.

"When did he even get that!?" Joseph asked as he began to run after them.

"No idea!" Zach followed behind.

By the time the others had arrived, the fight was already over, with both sides lying on the floor.

Ben quickly sat back up.

"That was a good fight!"

The Plesioth got up at the same time. It seemed to agree.

"Then, wanna come with us? For travelling and stuff."

The Plesioth nodded.

"How did that work?" Callum asked.

There was no answer anyone could give.

"So, anyways… I'll call ya Plessy."

"That name sucks." Joseph argued.

Ben looked over at Daimyo, a regular sized Hermitaur. "Shut it, at least mine's accurate."

"He'll be a Daimyo eventually!"

The group continued back down the same path as before.

* * *

A few months later, another encounter happened.

Night had nearly fallen, so the group had split up in the flooded forest to find anything to eat. The last to return was Zach, holding something that caught their attention.

Even Plessy was actually surprised.

"I...it's an egg…." Ben muttered.

Callum dashed forwards. "Zach! Did ya lay this egg?!"

Zach took a heavy sigh before replying in as disappointed a tone as possible. "Yer messing with things that shouldn't be messed with."

"Good job! Good job, Zach!" Joseph continued "Now I get to see what my-"

"It's already over, dude."

"I know, I know, I was just annoyed it got cut off before I even got to say my part. Anyways, where'd ya find that?"

"Floating down the river."

"Oh, cool. So, more importantly, how are ya gonna cook it?"

"No, I'm not."

"...It's a monster egg."

"Yeah. I know. That's why I got it."

"What if it's dangerous?"

Zach glanced over to Plessy, who was having fun flopping around.

Joseph didn't bother to look over. "Yeah, point taken. Yer the one who's gotta raise it, tho."

"Mm, sure."

For the next few days, Zach carried that egg everywhere with him. No matter what. He never left it on its own. It was inseparable from him. There was no way of arguing that he didn't care for it.

After about a week, Ben finally decided to ask.

"Oi, what even got ya so attached to that thing?"

"Getting attached to random things isn't something I don't do."

"Yeah, but this is way more than usual."

"I dunno… I just took an interest in it."

"Why?"

"Well I saw it when it was floating down the river and it stuck out to me. So I took it."

"What do ya think even happened to it?" Callum asked.

"I dunno. I've never heard of a monster that sends its eggs down rivers on purpose, so it must've fallen in somehow. But either way, it was completely on its own. So since we're in the same situation more or less, of course I've gotta help it out."

In the face of such ridiculously pure-hearted and well-intending reasoning there was nothing the others could do to respond.

A few weeks later the egg started to crack. All of them gathered around to watch. It took a while, but eventually something emerged.

"It's uh… something." Ben observed.

"Wow, thanks, I couldn't tell." Joseph replied.

"Any time."

"Ain't this uh… a Ludroth?" Callum asked.

"Those are meant to be spongy, right? This thing ain't spongy at all." Joseph asked back.

"They gotta grow it first."

"Oh yeah, now that I think about it that's kinda like Zach's afro." Ben noted "Weird coincidence."

"Haha… yeah." Zach replied "That is weird."

"Do ya really believe such a thing as coincidence exists?" Zach gloated in his thoughts. "Everything was calculated from the start. Ludroth eggs are noticeable by their unique markings, even from a distance. Of course I would save a Ludroth. After all, afros are god. Do ya really believe I would accept a monster without an afro? Life without afros is meaningless. All that reasoning was just a mere farce, there is no reason more important than the quality of possessing an afro. This is my victory. Now-"

"So what are ya gonna call it?" Callum asked, catching him off guard and cutting off his mental victory speech.

"Uh… um… Zappy."

Joseph and Ben both stared for a few seconds before yelling in unison "That doesn't even have anything to do with it!"

"Yeah but I like it, so shut up."

* * *

A few weeks later, Callum was sat by himself, staring at the sky.

"Man, I sure wish I could have a monster too." He thought, before feeling a presence behind him.

It was something completely incomprehensible, accompanied by a distorted voice and incredibly ominous chanting.

A voice was heard in his head.

"Do you desire an alliance?"

"...Y-yes."

"Very well. My power is now yours."

Callum returned to the others.

"Yo, guys. Made a friend."

Sanchez ran out from behind him before starting to run circles around the campfire.

"Ah, a completely normal Jaggi." The rest thought, none the wiser.

This was how the group of eight was formed during their travels, leading them towards Port Tanzia.


	3. 1-3, First Hunt

**1343**

The sun rose over the deserted isle.

Joseph stepped out of base camp with confidence.

"Looks like we're finally getting started."

Callum walked up behind him. "Yeah, it's time for hunting."

Zach showed up. "Remember, our target's the Arzuros. It looks bluish."

Ben grinned. "Who cares about how it looks? Let's just go kick its ass!"

He raised his axe into the air as he yelled this. The monsters joined in on the excitement by roaring.

All of them set out, having no clue at all what they were doing.

"So wait, how do we find it?" Joseph asked.

"Uh… split up." Callum suggested.

"Yeah sure, sounds good."

* * *

After they all went their own seperate ways the first to encounter it was Callum.

"Huh, looks like I was right. Aight, time to tell the others…"

His thoughts froze.

"I have no idea how to tell them it's here."

The Arzuros roared.

"Well, no choice. Sorry to all of ya, but it looks like I'll be taking the credit for our first victory."

He ran forwards with Sanchez. The monster was confused but targeted Sanchez, who dodged under the swipe.

Callum ran around it and started slashing, while Sanchez bit and swung his tail at it.

After a few seconds of attacking Callum didn't notice any effect.

"Heh, yer a tough one." He observed with unwarranted confidence "Then, it looks like we've got no choice. Sanchez, let's combine our strength!"

Sanchez looked back with confusion.

"Lemme on yer back."

Sanchez now understood.

Callum ran over to him and jumped, landing awkwardly on Sanchez's back before sliding off.

He then got back up again and climbed on the normal way.

Sanchez started to dash around the enemy while Callum slashed. This was effective in damaging it more.

The Arzuros used more claw swipes, which Sanchez jumped over. It was a few seconds before he realised something was missing here.

Sanchez turned his head to spot Callum passed out on the ground nearby. He'd failed to consider the increase in height while evading. Callum had also not considered that leather armour really isn't effective for stopping damage.

The cart felynes wheeled Callum away, Sanchez just awkwardly watched him go before deciding to follow back.

The Arzuros continued to wander around the area, victorious.

* * *

Ben ended up near the sea.

"Uh… did Zach say if it was underwater or not?"

Just then he spotted a bluish shape moving around underwater.

"Found ya."

"Still though… Hey Plessy, how am I gonna get down there? Cause I can't swim, remember?"

Plessy lowered himself to the ground.

"Sounds great."

The piscine wyvern dived into the sea with a hunter clinging to his back.

They approached the bluish object and found a serpent-like monster.

"So yer the Arzuros, huh!?" Ben tried to yell, forgetting he was underwater.

The monster roared in response, surrounding itself in electricity.

"Heh, looks like I'm gonna be taking all the credit." Ben thought, knowing next to nothing about monsters.

Plessy charged into the Lagiacrus head-first, knocking it back. He then followed up with a hip-check.

Ben was knocked away from him but was only slightly fazed, starting to wildly slash at the leviathan.

Most of these missed as he slowly float away.

Plessy launched himself into his enemy, before using a beam of pressurised water.

This was barely dodged and the Lagiacrus clamped its jaws around his neck. He then activated his electricity.

Plessy roared with pain from the attack.

Ben tried to move closer to help, but was unable to do anything. Plessy was then released and started to float away, barely conscious. This turned the Lagiacrus' attention to Ben. Exactly what he wanted.

The Lagiacrus charged at him. He didn't have the option of dodging, so he just attacked back.

Both took damage and Ben was knocked away.

As he came to a stop, he found it difficult to focus.

"I can't afford to pass out. This is nothing. I can still… keeping going."

The same thing repeated multiple times, but Ben still managed to cling on.

It was only getting harder and harder to see, but Ben kept on raising his weapon.

The Lagiacrus paused to analyse him for a few seconds. Even after all these hits, he was still going. It then ignored this and took another charge forwards.

It was then cut off by a headbutt. Plessy used the opening to grab and swim away as quickly as possible.

The Lagiacrus watched them go and considered following, but then decided against it. It turned around and disappeared into the ocean.

When Plessy got back to land, he threw Ben off and checked him. He was already unconscious. Plessy didn't know when he passed out, but that didn't really matter.

The cart felynes picked him and up and took him away, with Plessy following.

* * *

Back on the land, Daimyo wandered around with Joseph crouched on his back, ready to attack the Arzuros the moment they spotted it.

It worked out well that they spotted it a few seconds later, wandering around the area.

"Hey dude, that's our target." Joseph announced.

Daimyo started to charge towards it.

The Arzuros saw them approach and prepared to intercept.

The monsters clashed, Daimyo's claws being blocked by the Arzuros'. Joseph suddenly thought of a really cool move. He kicked off Daimyo's back and launched himself over the Arzuros' head.

As gravity pulled him down, he drew his sword for a slash across the monster's back. As it howled in pain he hit the ground at an awkward angle.

Daimyo just stood around awkwardly, not sure what to do.

Joseph managed to get back somewhat awkwardly, barely styling it out with a "Heh."

"Need to work out the landing." He thought, before something in his brain yelled at him to jump away.

As he dodged, the Azuros' claws crashed into the ground.

It took a second to process that it missed, before following up with more, which were stepped around.

"I'm won't hit that easy, ya know?" Despite his attempts to seem carefree Joseph's focus on dodging was causing him to jumble his stock cool lines together, but he didn't notice.

Daimyo launched a beam of pressurised water, causing the enemy to stumble. Joseph then slashed at its chest.

Daimyo jabbed it with his left claw, while Joseph stabbed at it.

Daimyo then used his other claw, while Joseph followed this up with a spirit combo.

As Joseph sheathed his sword, Daimyo knocked the Arzuros into the ground with both his claws.

Both of them froze up as they realised how cool what they just did was.

As the Arzuros recovered, Joseph had an idea for his next move. The excitement didn't wear off fast enough for him to reconsider.

"Daimyo, keep it distracted for a few seconds. I've got a plan."

Daimyo's excitement also didn't wear off fast enough for him to realise he should find out what the plan is before agreeing.

The Hermitaur jumped towards the Arzuros and punched at it, then using a beam of water to push it back slightly.

The Arzuros retaliated with its own attacks, but these were blocked. As the last strike was stopped, it heard a noise behind it.

Joseph stood behind the monster, ready to draw his sword.

"Heh, where are ya lookinGAH"

Joseph was crushed under the weight of the Arzuros as it sat down.

He could no longer feel most of his body.

"Hey, I give, okay, I'm sorry, just get off!"

Joseph tried to slash at the monster but due to his current situation this had no effect. He kept trying, swinging his longsword around with no strength.

"D-Daimyo! Do something! I'm gonna die! Ya gotta-"

Daimyo finally snapped out of staring at this in shock and charged into the Arzuros, causing it to roll off.

The Arzuros got back up quickly, starting its opponent down. Daimyo got readied his claws.

Tension filled the air until it was cut off by cart felynes showing up to carry Joseph away.

He ended up passing out while he was trapped.

Daimyo just awkwardly walked off.

* * *

Zach and Zappy wandered up a hill. A felyne appeared before them.

"You gotta go back to the port, nya."

"What happened?"

"Three faints and the quest's over."

"...It's been ten minutes."

"Yeah. And?"

* * *

The group met up again in Tanzia.

There was a long silence.

"I think our plan had some problems in it." Callum finally said.

"Yeah. Some." Joseph agreed.

"Well it's not like we can do much to prepare against lightning, right?" Argued Ben.

No one even wanted to ask what happened to him. Zach was the next to speak.

"We probably got too into it, didn't we? With it being our first hunt and all."

"I figured it'd be more… cool and stuff." Joseph thought aloud.

Callum and Ben both agreed.

"Dunno. It is what is. Even if something ridiculously cool was possible, it's probably not for us. We've just gotta survive."

"Yeah, fair enough."

Zach still kept going, focused on this now.

"We've gotta keep going, cause this is our new life. And probably our last chance. So let''s just… live like they did."

"They?" Ben asked.

"The two we took our surname from."

This provoked a feeling of awkwardness from the entire group, quickly diffused by Callum adding "Let's try and end up differently, though."

"Yeah, that's the plan." Zach continued "So don't worry. As long as all eight of us are here, like we've always been, things'll be fine."

The next time they went hunting they stuck together. They still ended up getting their asses kicked somewhat, but that was besides to the point. All that mattered was surviving. So long as they all kept going, nothing else mattered.

* * *

Yo, I still don't remember how to write author's comments anymore, but now's a good enough time to explain what this is, three chapters in.

From the title and content so far it should be pretty obvious this is a prequel, but it's not ending at just this story, rather it's a collection of stories set before when the main plot began.

If you haven't checked out the main story then I'm gonna warn you that this really doesn't work as a starting point at all. I imagine that this was pretty easy to understand even without context of why they're in these places but some of the later chapters will work off what's brought up in the main plot.

The release schedule for chapters will be whenever they're done mixed with when G has gotten to the point where reading them will make sense.

If I was smart I would've already written these chapters beforehand, but I've never been smart in my life, so I'm sorry in advance if there's delays.

Well regardless of my complaining about myself, I hope you enjoy the rest of the stories here whenever they're released.

Also as an extra note even though I said this would release separately to the main series consider this an apology for not meeting this week's deadline for G since due to poor time management I still haven't finished the new chapter, it should be up sometime soon hopefully.


	4. 2, Careless Days

**1343**

An ordinary day began in Kotoko village.

* * *

Josh found his way to the hunting hall, before sensing something was off. He hopped back as someone crashed through the space where he just was.

"You weren't meant to dodge it, Josh…"

"What kinda idiot would just stand there and get hit?"

"You. It was a test of will, you get me?"

"Dan, I get that being tall's great and all, but trust me when I say that being this short makes you tend to avoid head-on confrontation."

"That's your fault."

"I'm not the one trying to crash into people."

A taller hunter wandered towards them, yawning before he asked "What are you idiots doing?"

"I've got nothing to do with this, William, all I did was dodge a probably fatal attack." Josh protested.

"It wouldn't have been fatal if you were strong of will enough." Dan argued back.

"You mean it wouldn't have been fatal if I was your height."

"Yeah, what I just said."

"If strength of will and height had anything to do with each other I'd either be a midget or I'd be determined as hell." William cut off their drawn out conversation "So anyways, can we get going?"

They headed in and immediately found who they were looking for, holding some paper.

"Yo, Isaac." William started the conversation "Whatcha got?"

Isaac turned to face them. "You guys wanna go hunt a Hypnocatrice?"

"No."

"What the hell's that?"

"Sure."

"Cool, then let's get going."

* * *

As they made their way up the hills, Isaac took the time to explain.

"Alright, so the main things to look out for this guy are how quick it is and the sleep attacks."

"Question. Since I'm really tired then is it cool if I get a quick nap in using its sleeping attacks?"

"William, this thing's still dangerous. You need to take it at least a little seriously."

"I slept badly last night, y'know."

"...Fine, I'll allow it once."

"Lucky me."

"Well at the very least you don't have to worry about me." Dan boasted "I'm invincible, so the sleep thing'll just bounce off. I've never slept in my entire life."

"Good to hear." Isaac replied without much reaction.

"So if we get hit with the sleep, then we just gotta kick each other to wake up, right?." Josh asked.

"Yeah, can't think of a better solution."

Their vague attempt at strategising continued until they ran into the monster.

* * *

It spotted them first and roared, catching them off guard.

Both Dan and William rushed forwards, surprisingly matching the other's energy for once.

They got hit by the sleep attack simultaneously.

The only part of this action that didn't sync up was their response, celebration from William and an annoyed grunt from Dan.

"That was surprisingly fast." Isaac noted.

"I wouldn't really call it surprising, but whatever." Josh replied, before these two started an attack of their own.

Josh rushed at it from the side, managing to dodge around the sleep attack and slash at the monster a few times before rolling away.

"Alright, so let's just keep doing that." He thought "I know that Isaac said it was fast, but I guess I must just be super fast, cause it can barely keep-"

The Hypnocatrice launched off the ground and closed in on Josh with some kicks, cutting off his mental bragging and knocking him away. It turned to face the remaining hunter, before getting some shells to face.

Isaac poked at it a few more times after closing the distance between them. The Hypnocatrice tried to attack with its tail, but was blocked. Some kicks were used, but still had no effect.

It then had an idea. It used some more kicks, then when its head was above Isaac's shield it used a sleep attack, hitting him directly in the face. It felt so assured of its victory it stopped paying attention, failing to notice he'd been preparing a wyvern's charge until it went off.

The blast knocked everyone away.

"Alright, done taking it easy on you." Dan was already talking before he even got back up "Let's get serious. For real."

"You'll pay for waking me up." William muttered "All of you."

Dan charged forwards, managing to avoid getting hit with a sleep attack this time. He started hacking away at the monster, before being knocked away by a tail swipe.

As he was sent away, William jumped in to take his place. The Hypnocatrice tried to strike at him, but this was dodged around and he began swinging just as wildly.

By this time, Isaac had already managed to get back up. Josh had also recovered.

Isaac poked at it, while Josh swung for the head.

They ended up accidentally hitting each other a few times due to the monster not being large enough, but eventually it was weakened enough for the fight to almost be over.

Isaac fired a shell into its head, causing the monster to fall over. It wasn't moving anymore.

"Ah, it's over already, huh?" Dan thought aloud "I didn't even get to switch to sword mode."

"That's what happens when you spend half the fight running at it instead of just hitting it." William explained "Anyways, can we get going? I still wanna sleep."

"Sure." Isaac replied as he finished carving.

Another ordinary day drew to a close.

* * *

A few hours later, by the time had set, Josh felt his mood sinking.

He ended up running into Isaac.

"Yo." Isaac began.

"Yo." He replied without much energy.

"What's wrong? You still annoyed you didn't get to do much?"

"It's not that. Today was a good day, y'know? Not much happened. Yeah, the fight was there, but it wasn't really anything to be concerned over. Today was a completely fine day."

"And what about it?"

"...Is it really fine for days like this to continue?"

"Yeah, I'd say so."

"Well yeah sure, there's nothing wrong with it but like- You can't shake that feeling either, right? These days are nice, but will they really keep going like this? Life… isn't good. Something terrible could just hit us at any point, without warning. How am I meant to deal with knowing that?"

Isaac took this in and thought of a response for a little while.

"...Well yeah, I guess you're not wrong."

Josh had expected denial, so this surprised him. He didn't respond, allowing Isaac to continue.

"Life does suck. Things could completely change in a year, a month or even a single minute. But to us, living here in this moment, do we really need to care? Whether we anticipate it or not it's still gonna happen, so we might as well put everything into living now."

"...But we can't stop that terrible thing, can we?"

"Well see, that's the thing. Sure, something like that might try to happen. But don't worry. I care about you guys, so I'm gonna protect what we have. Trust me, that potential terrible future won't happen so long as I'm around. You can count on me. No matter what."

Josh took a few seconds to process this.

"You're way too full of yourself, you know that?"

"Well yeah, probably."

"...But still, thanks. I'll believe in you, okay? Though don't expect to just do everything by yourself. We'll help too."

"Sure thing."

* * *

The next day, the group met up like usual.

"The only quest available is taking down a pair of Velocidrome." Isaac fold them.

"Seems easy, let's go."

"Sounds kinda boring."

"Sure."

That ordinary, enjoyable life continued carelessly, never stopping to think about the future.

The group set out, expecting another non-serious day.

* * *

A while later, a man found himself in the pits of despair.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I see now. I was wrong. What did I think I could protect? What's the point in protecting? I can't protect anyone. Just waiting around will only get everyone killed. I have to stop the problems before they happen. That's the only way. I need… to save everyone."


	5. 3-1, Solitary Ice

**1327**

* * *

The crowds made their way through Bherna, another busy day. This chaotic world was made up of countless smaller worlds, one for each person. They'd already formed their own worlds. They knew who was a part of it and who wasn't, most were hardly open to let any others in.

A greatsword wielding man wandered the streets alone.

He watched all the groups of hunters pass by him.

"Look at all of you. Pathetic. To think you all actually need to rely on others. Aren't you ashamed? You're all too afraid to be on your own. I don't have time for something like that. I've gotta survive on my own. "

No one took any notice of him, as he lent against the side of a random building, watching them all go by.

"I'm strong. Stronger than any of you. So of course I don't need to associate with you. Just keep living out your repetitive lives until the day you die, while I'm busy reaching the top."

In the morning, he would wake up and immediately head to the gathering hall to pick a quest. This would be dealt with quickly, so he could return back to the town and upgrade his gear, before going straight to sleep.

That was all there was to the daily life of Aron Gandor. There was never any variation. Not a single thing disrupted that routine.

Yet, he was satisfied. That was all he needed. He didn't need anything special. Just something to occupy him.

This solitary world continued down its own path.

* * *

As Aron walked towards the gathering hall, he found someone in the way.

"Yo, angsty swordsman character." The girl in front of him said.

Aron decided not to respond, he just walked past her.

"Hey, wait, I'm sorry for calling that. It was a joke. Y'know, for breaking the ice and stuff, getting interest, all that. You're alone, right? So let's work together."

Aron wasn't listening.

He took a quest to hunt a Rathalos and headed off to the jurassic frontier.

"So anyways, what's the deal with the whole not talking to people thing? Like, is it part of a character… wait, are you scared? It's ok, I don't bite. Ah… wait, sorry, can you just not speak? Uh… um… nod if I'm right."

Aron headed into the jungle, still trying to ignore the woman who'd followed him out here.

"You come around here often? ...Ok, so it looks like tryna get you to straightman and state that you obviously do come here a lot is out... trying to get you to straightman my pulling apart the joke for no real reason failed too."

Aron looked upwards, to spot a Rathalos flying around in the distance. Having found his target, he ran off.

"Wait up! Aren't greatswords supposed to be heavy? Why are you so fast!?"

Aron finally got some peace and quiet.

* * *

"Seriously… what was her deal?" He thought. "I don't need to be bugged by others. I'm strong. So just let me handle it myself." As he finished this self-promotion, he looked around.

"Where did that thing go? I'm pretty sure it must've landed somewhere in this direction…"

Aron's thoughts were then interrupted by a roar in the distance behind him. He took off in that direction.

The hunter rushed through the trees until he reached a clearing, spotting the target. It was only a second later that he spotted another hunter fighting it.

"Ah, so she found it first, huh? Wait a second, is she even fighting back?"

The Rathalos lunged at the woman. She dodged out of the way and tried to fire a shot in response, but this was cut off by needing to dodge another bite. As she stepped back the Rathalos swung his tail around, forcing her to roll underneath.

This left her unable to dodge the follow up, as the Rathalos swung his tail upwards. She was knocked a few metres away, ragdolling onto the ground.

The bow user struggled against the poison to get back up, only to see a fireball hurtling towards her. There was no time to dodge. She could barely even move.

Her paralysis was interrupted by a kick from the side, sending her flying again.

A man landed next to her. He finally spoke.

"If you're really that weak, then at the very least don't try to drag me down with you."

She was stunned.

"Did you really have to kick me!?"

"Wait, that's what you say?"

"Just blocking it would've been cooler, right?"

"That would've just dulled my blade for no reason. Why would I do that when I could just dodge it?"

"Cause it would've looked cool."

"I don't care about that."

"You should."

"No, really, I shouldn't. Anyways, putting this aside, isn't there a more typical line for people who've just been rescued from incoming doom?"

"...Ah! Yeah, right. Uh… Thank you for saving me, I now owe you my life."

Aron paused for a second, before turning his head away.

"I didn't need to be thanked."

"...Wait, why did you ask then?"

"Shut up, I'm tryna focus."

The Rathalos somehow still hadn't attacked them during this conversation, it was just keeping his distance and watching. That left Aron with no option but to go towards him.

He advanced quickly before the Rathalos cut him off with a tail swipe. This was dodged, followed by quickly attempting to catch the monster with an upwards swing.

The flying wyvern was unable to dodge, taking a hit to his left wing before trying to claw at Aron.

Aron just narrowly dodged this, hitting his opponent with another swing. The Rathalos launched a fireball, which hit him straight in the chest. He stumbled for a second, giving it an opportunity to knock him back with a tail swing.

Aron had no time to react as the Rathalos pinned him to the ground. He hadn't brought any dung bombs. He was trapped.

The Rathalos continued to attack, confident in his victory. He then felt the slightest amount of resistance. It was just his prey struggling. He didn't feel the need to pay much attention to it.

More resistance. He then worked it out.

Somehow, through sheer force of will, this hunter was fighting back. He wasn't trying to just stop the attacks. While he was stuck lying on the ground, Aron was trying to lift the entire weight of the Rathalos that had him pinned to the ground.

The wyvern tried to launch a fireball at the hunter's head, but before he could finish preparing it was over.

The hunter grabbed the wyvern by the legs and managed to throw him off.

It was stunned for more than a few seconds, having never expected anything like this.

It wasn't the only one, the girl watching the battle unfold from the side had her jaw hit drop, unable to even form an exclamation of surprise.

The one who'd just disregarded most common sense was the only one with his mind still functioning, surprisingly.

As the Rathalos was knocked back, he saw what he'd been waiting for this entire time.

"An opening!"

He gripped his weapon as tightly as possible and swung it for the newly exposed underside of the Rathalos' neck.

The fight was over in that moment.

* * *

Aron returned to where he'd left the girl behind.

"Wait, you're still just lying there?"

"Well yeah, of course. Poison makes it difficult to move much."

"Just drink an antidote."

She was clearly trying her hardest not to respond with annoyed sarcasm.

"I forgot to bring them."

"How can you not bring antidotes to fight a Rathalos?"

"Oh, sorry, I was kind of in a hurry, someone just took off as quick as possible."

"You could've just not followed me."

"But we're working together, now."

"Exactly when did I agree to this?"

"Well you're always on your own, so you need some company, right?"

"That's still not me agreeing. In the first place, why would I even want to be followed around by someone who's name I don't even know?"

"It's Julia. You can call me Juli, though."

"Well, whatever, Julia." He sighed. "I guess there's no way for me to stop you from following me around. But if you're gonna join me on hunts you gotta at least pull your own weight, got it?"

"Don't worry, I'll definitely be useful. I'll do whatever you need me to. All your requests will be fulfilled without a moment's hesitation."

"...I don't really have any requests though. Just don't hold me back."

"Sure thing."

Aron turned and started to march back to base camp as quickly as possible, trying to ignore the one now following him and her attempts to strike up conversations.

* * *

Yo, this is the author's notes section.

I don't usually include these on the prequel stuff, but, y'know. I think I got some explaining to do. Assuming that you've read the main series, you may remember how I said, in my own words "Hopefully this should return around June or July, though it could be later if I'm an idiot."

Yeah, so that same idiot decided "It'd be cool if I just wrote to the end and then started updating afterwards"

You'd think that college and stuff ending early cause would lead to a more efficient work output, but unfortunately attention disorders sure doesn't work like that. If anything I'm pretty sure that not having anything I was required to do just left me with less time to absently mindedly get distracted by writing thoughts like normal. But on the bright side, I don't feel like I'm dying like I was towards the end of the updates back then, so really it hasn't been that bad.

My complaining aside, yeah I ended up taking a huge break from writing in the middle of all of this. Then by the time I returned my pacing kinda varied between a chapter a day and a chapter a week, until the very end but those chapters are special cause they're longer than the rest. Also cause of the emotional weight behind them on my part.

Basically, everything is done, I've just gotta edit it. I'm planning on going at around a chapter a day at least, maybe more in some cases. Getting all emotional now would be kinda dumb, I'mma just leave it for the final chapter. So for now I'll just say that this journey of very nearly four years will be over soon enough.


	6. 3-2, Alliance

**1317**

* * *

Caravans made their way down the road. It was a normal day. The world was at peace.

The boy smiled.

A second later, this was all burnt to ash. The surroundings became an inferno.

Amidst all that destruction, the boy was only able to focus on one thing. The beast that had brought all this with it, the only thing left standing among the flames.

It didn't even spare a moment to pay attention to those caught up in its devastation.

The weak lay beneath its gaze. Only the strong being was allowed to stand.

* * *

**1327**

* * *

Aron woke up and quickly headed out. As always, he was headed to the gathering hall.

His memories of yesterday still hadn't returned to him, he was in a half-awake state. It was only once he encountered her again that he remembered what was going on.

"Ah, there you are." Julia thought aloud. "Where'd you even disappear to yesterday? You move too fast."

"I went home." Aron replied "I was tired."

"It wasn't even evening yet."

"I lifted a Rathalos."

"Oh yeah, that was so completely incomprehensible that I just forgot about it. Anyway, let's get going."

They headed inside to pick out a quest.

"How about this one?"

"That's a gathering quest."

"Yeah, I noticed."

"Doesn't that seem boring?"

"...Well, I mean, we can go with a hunt if you want, that's fine. I just figured we might as well use this as a chance to talk some more, but I guess you don't like talking much, so uh, worry, I'll just-"

"Fine then, let's go."

"No really, we can just hunt something, so like-"

"You'll probably end up carting if we fight something too dangerous, so let's just gather for now."

"...Sure, if that's what you want."

"It is."

* * *

They travelled to the jurassic frontier, heading further into the jungle.

Their quest was to gather 5 abyssal mushrooms.

"So, got any idea what to talk about?"

"That's your job."

"Sure. Then, have you got any interests?"

"Getting stronger."

"Hobbies?"

"Getting stronger."

"Anything you do to pass the time?"

"Getting stronger."

"You have to have something other than getting stronger!"

"Not really. Look, I'm not one for like, doing anything other than hunting. Wouldn't this go better if you talked about yourself?"

"Then, ok. I just like normal stuff, like y'know, reading and stuff."

"So you spend a lot of your time reading, then?"

"Yeah."

"So that's why you're so bad at fighting."

"...Ow."

Julia paused for a second, trying to think of some counterargument.

"I'm not… that bad at fighting, you know? I was just taken off guard."

"Somehow I really doubt you're telling the truth."

"I can be useful! Just watch!"

"We're not fighting anything today."

"...Watch next time, then."

"Why are you even planning on there being a next time?"

"Because we're partners now."

"According to you."

"Do you not agree?"

"Wasn't that obvious? In the first place, I dunno why you're even tryna work with me."

"I already said, didn't I? Cause you're all alone."

"...That's not wrong, but is that really a reason?"

"Well I'm all alone too, so I guess."

Aron just stared for a few seconds, before turning around again and walking away quicker than before.

"C'mon, let's get moving. We're barely getting anywhere while we're chatting."

"Ah wait," Julia chased behind him "I've still got a bunch of other conversation starters to use!"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Ok, first, how do you like your steak?"

"Cooked."

"...More specific."

"I like it when it's warm."

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

"Doing what?"

It took a while for them to reach the lower areas.

* * *

"Ah, over there." Julia thought aloud.

"What, so that's all there was to this, huh?" Aron thought aloud in response.

"Don't say that, it'll make something unexpected and dangerous happen."

"Well, I wouldn't be too against that, seeing how boring this has been so far."

"I'd rather not risk it, so let's talk about something else."

"I thought you ran out of conversation starters when we were climbing down."

"I remembered another one. So, where are you from?"

"Pokke."

"Hmm… must be cold."

"It was. Probably still is. I hope."

"...I'm from Minegrade."

"So what's it like there?"

"...Busy, I guess."

"Then why'd you leave?"

"Cause it's too busy."

"Ain't that good?"

"I guess, but I couldn't really deal with it, so…"

"...Ok. I should probably talk about something else, right?"

"...Yeah."

"Well uh, as for why I left Pokke. I dunno. It's not an interesting place, it's just cold. There's nothing for me there…"

"It'd probably be for the best if we both just didn't think about our pasts, wouldn't it?"

"Mm."

"Well, I got the mushrooms anyways, so let's go."

Somehow, it was near dark by the time they got back to town.

"How were we even doing that all day?" Aron asked.

"Time flies when you're having fun."

"I see, I'll have to avoid ever doing it again. Is what I would say, if it even was fun."

"Don't be like that. We talked a bunch, right?"

"How does that go against what I'm saying?"

"Well anyways, even if you're the introverted strong guy type, going hunting with others is better than going alone, right?"

"That wasn't a hunt, though…" Aron's voice trailed off, not really finding a way to argue against the rest.

"Well, for the time being," he thought "Going along with her whims isn't that bad, so I haven't really got a reason to fight back. Still, something's off, isn't it? Like..."

His thoughts were cut off by Julia continuing. "So on that note, let's go drinking to celebrate a job well done!"

"Wait."

"What?"

"Ok, so first off, that implies the existence of a job, but I feel like if I keep denying that we did anything it's just gonna go through one ear and out the other, so I'm dropping that. Second off, why are we going drinking?"

"...To celebrate a job well done?"

"All we did is talk, and now you wanna talk even more? It's ridiculous."

"Is it?"

"It is!"

"Well, I mean, talking while drinking is fun so-"

"Not interested."

"That line's overused. Come on."

"Look, I'm going home already-"

"Ah, could it be that you've never drunk anything before?"

"What are you talking about? I've been drinking my whole life. Everyone dies. Otherwise we'd die."

"...You know that's not what I mean."

"Then what do you mean?"

"Alcohol."

"It's not really my thing."

"So you haven't tried it. Wait, how old even are you?"

"Eighteen."

"Huh, you look older."

"Thanks?"

"Well, that makes things different if you're just a kid."

"How old are you, then?" Aron asked in response, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Eighteen."

"You know that's the same, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm eighteen years and eleven months. So I'm more or less nineteen. How many months in are you?"

"Eleven."

"Be honest."

"...Eight. But using something like months is stupid anywa-"

Julia's grin widened. "See, exactly like I thought. You are currently, and forever will be, a mere infant."

"Then just go and die already, old hag."

As Aron finished his line, he felt something was wrong. A great evil had been awakened by these words. Killing intent filled the area.

"W-wait, why are you even mad, you implied that yourself!"

"It's different when you put it like that! So, how about we leave this little conversation aside and get to drinking already? Or…"

"O-okay, let's go." Aron rushed inside.

Julia put her rage aside to follow him.

This began their partnership.


	7. 3-3, Solitary Flame

**1327**

* * *

"So, what kinda quest are we going for this time?" Aron asked.

"What about… this?" Julia pointed to a piece of paper

"A Glavenus, huh? That's unexpected."

"How?"

"Do I really need the whole thing where you can't fight well?"

"I can. I was just having a bad day."

"Sure thing. Just try to stay alive against this one."

"Can do."

The entire way there, Julia just spaced off into space.

Aron managed to ignore how weird he found it most of the way, before he finally cracked as they left base camp.

"What happened to your usual talkativeness?"

"Huh? You missing it?"

"Of course not. I'm just confused."

"Well… I gotta think about how to beat this thing, you know. I wanna not fail."

"That's unexpected."

"...How?"

"You didn't really seem like the type to think."

"I'm just going back to planning, I'm not gonna deal with this."

* * *

When they'd made their way a little further in, Julia finally spoke up.

"Ok, we'll wait for it here."

"Why would we do that?"

"To surprise it."

"...What if it doesn't show up? The jungle's a big place, there's no way it'd just show up here by pure coincidence. So let's get moving-"

Aron was cut off by the Glavenus showing up directly in front of him, like it had appeared out of thin air.

"See!?"

"No, I didn't see it at all!"

The brute wyvern roared.

Aron drew his sword and started whacking the Glavenus, while Julia kept her distance. It ignored her, instead focusing on the one right next to it.

Aron stepped out of the way as it slammed its head into the ground. He took the opening to hit it again, but got pushed back by it raising upwards. The monster swung with its tail, barely missing.

Aron stabbed at it. Arrows rained down from above.

The Glavenus had hardly taken any damage, but it was still pissed off. It began to sharpen its tail.

"What's it doing now?" Julia asked.

"Don't ask that, just get down!"

A second after his yelling finished, the Glavenus began to spin.

In an instant, it was over. The area had been cut to pieces.

"What… was that?" Julia thought, grateful to still have her head attached.

"Why the hell would you take on a Glavenus without knowing about the tail thing? It's the most recognisable attack! Who thinks of a Glavenus without also thinking of the sword tail?"

"Well, sorry for not being an expert, I just took the first quest I saw!"

Before Aron could reply, the Glavenus jumped between them. It raised its tail, before slashing at Aron. He just about managed to roll out of the way.

The monster didn't let him escape, attacking again. It barely grazed past him, but gave him an opening to counter.

It attacked again, getting closer to injuring him this time. Aron tried countering, but had to stop himself to deflect another strike from the Glavenus' tail.

As he tried to get his bearings, another slash followed. It cut him straight across the chest. Luckily, the blade had cooled down, so it wasn't as bad as it could've been.

"This isn't good…" Aron thought "I need an opening. It should let up… now!"

As he went for a counterattack, the fight was interrupted by Julia's yelling.

"Eat this!"

As she finished yelling, a barrel bomb she threw over the monster's head was hit with an arrow, detonating it.

The Glavenus finally acknowledged her existence, turning its head to face her.

It closed the distance with a single leap, but she barely reacted. She just continued to back off.

Impatient, the Glavenus swung its tail around. Julia realised at the last second that it'd be a good idea to dodge, so it just grazed by her.

Another swing followed. This time, Julia jumped away. The Glavenus went again. This time, she jumped even further. As the Glavenus' blade the ground, it realised why.

The barrel bombs Julia had hidden there detonated, sending her flying away, and sending the Glavenus' tail flying straight off.

"The hell kinda plan was that?" Aron thought as he ran in.

The Glavenus was distraught over the loss of its tail, giving Aron an opening to finish it off.

As it hit the ground, he stopped paying attention to it, instead running up to the hunter who got caught in the blast.

"Hey, Julia! You okay?"

"I'm not you, I can't be okay after getting caught in an explosion." She was on the ground, but the reply at least showed some energy.

"What were you even thinking? That's too dangerous."

"Oh? Well if you must know my thought process, I figured that blowing it up was the quickest way to deal with the tail."

"But you got injured."

"It's not that bad. Besides, it's fine. It was useful, right?"

"...I guess. But if you wanna last more than a few days out here, don't do it again."

"Ah, you're concerned for me?"

"It's not that, I just don't like such dumb tactics. Now come on, we still gotta carve it."

She struggled up to follow him.

It was a few hours later when they returned.

* * *

Since Aron was used to it by now, they went drinking again.

"Hehehehehehehe." Julia muttered to herself.

"What's with that creepy laugh?"

"Well, y'know, I'm happy. Cause honestly, I never thought I'd be able to beat something like that."

"Is it really that impressive?"

"It is! Normal humans can't get into fights with giant dinosaurs! You're seriously something else."

Aron couldn't really think of a response to that.

"So, we've got this."

"Got what?"

"Like… everything? With how strong you are, I'm confident that things'll be fine. So that's good."

"Sure, I guess."

The conversation continued on for a while before they left.

As he was walking back, Aron stopped.

"So. Who are you?"

There was no response.

"Over there. I mean you. Who was following me."

Still nothing. He irritatedly walked towards the shadows, grabbing the person standing there.

"You."

"Looks like there's no way out of this one."

"Yeah. There isn't. So who the hell are you?"

"The girl you were with. That was Julia, right?"

"Yeah. Oh, you a stalker?"

"If I was a stalker why would I be following the wrong one? I'm an old teammate of hers. I'm here to warn you."

"...About what?"

"Doesn't she seem off to you?"

"How?"

"She's always… clingy. She tries to be as useful as possible, seem helpless, any tactic she can use to get people attached to her. There's just something… off about it. She doesn't act like a human. It's like a character."

"What's your point here?"

"I'm trying to spare you now, cause working out that you're being manipulated later feels way worse. She's partnered with a lot of the hunters here. And here's the thing, she's pretty perceptive. Whatever weaknesses you have, she can just tell, and she uses them to win you over. Has she been bringing up any one thing you focus on a lot?"

Aron breathed in.

"Look, whoever you are, it's not really your place to stick your nose into this. So I don't care. Also, you should probably stop being less creepy if you want anyone to like you. Not hiding in the shadows all the time would be a start. See ya."

Aron quickly walked off.

When he got back, he just thought to himself. Memories played out in his mind.

* * *

With how strong you are, I'm confident things will be fine.

You're seriously something else.

It was useful, right?

I guess, but I couldn't really deal with it, so...

Cause you're all alone. Well, I'm all alone too.

I can be useful. Just watch.

All your requests will be fulfilled without a moment's hesitation.

"Ahh. So that's how it was. That's how I was. How pathetic of me."

* * *

The sun rose again, as always.

Julia spotted him from a short distance.

"Ah, look who it is. Ready to get going?"

Aron walked straight past her.

"...Hey? Where are you-"

"I don't need you anymore."

"...What?"

"I heard about your tactics. Ah, don't worry though. I'm not mad at you. You were able to team up with me because I was weak. I was priding myself so hard on being stronger than others, that I had no problem working with someone weak, as long as I could feel superior."

Julia didn't reply. All she could manage was a pained sound.

"It must've been pretty obvious for you to be able to catch on so easily. But now that I've realised the problem, I'm over it. I just had to get stronger. Goodbye."

He walked off, leaving the girl there, unable to respond.


	8. 3-4, Facade

I see. So I'm alone. My family's all gone, so I have nothing. In that case, I guess I am nothing.

To become something, I need someone. No. I need someone to need me. That's how I'll have worth.

I have to be someone likeable. I have to be someone friendly. I have to be someone perfect. Then, people will want to be near me, right?

If I do what they need, If I fulfil their requests, then they'll have no choice but to love me. Right?

* * *

It's not working.

Everyone's already closed off.

They've formed their own worlds. No matter how I am, they don't need me.

No matter how much I do for them, I'm non-existent. So, I need to change targets.

People who are fine don't need anyone. They don't need me.

The ones I should be helping are the ones who need others, like me. They all need a specific type of person to save them. So there's nothing wrong with me becoming that person for them, right?

* * *

This one is scared. So they need someone dependable.

It didn't work. They caught on. They don't trust me anymore. They'll never trust me anymore.

This one is withdrawn. They need someone outgoing.

It didn't work. They caught on. They don't trust me anymore. They'll never trust me anymore.

This one is outgoing. They need someone withdrawn.

It didn't work. They caught on. They don't trust me anymore. They'll never trust me anymore.

This one is brash. They need someone reserved.

It didn't work.

This one is confident. They need someone to lead.

It didn't work.

This one is unsure. They need someone to assure them.

It didn't work.

It didn't work.

It didn't work.

It didn't work.

Am I doing something wrong? I can't see what's wrong with this.

If I could have someone to save me, I'd jump at the chance. Does it matter if they're real or not? What difference does it make? What's wrong with all of you?

Why isn't it working?

* * *

This one prides himself on being strong.

All I can do is repeat until something works. So this time, I need to become someone weak.

I'll become someone for him to protect. Then everything will work out.

* * *

**1327**

* * *

Aron walked off.

"Wait a second!" Julia yelled, falling on deaf ears.

He took a quest and headed out. Julia quickly rushed behind him.

"Didn't I already say?" Aron asked without turning around. "I don't need you anymore. I'm… not someone who gets involved with others. So just don't bother."

"But- we're supposed to be partners. Didn't you agree?"

"...I never did. You decided that for yourself."

* * *

A few more days passed. They could almost be called empty.

Aron was relieved to be at peace again. He was a solitary existence once more, like he was comfortable being. This was all he needed.

Once again, he found himself travelling through the Jurassic Frontier. Everyday life had returned.

"Ah."

"Ah."

Once again, it was disrupted by Julia's presence.

"This wasn't on purpose, you know. I'm just here by coincidence. That's what happens when there's only one hunting ground near here."

Aron didn't respond. He just pretended not to notice her.

This annoyed Julia enough to push her further.

"Oi. What gave me away?"

"...Someone else told me."

"I see. So that's how it is, now."

"You're saying that like it's a surprise."

"Of course it is. Why would they do that?"

"Well, the one I encountered seemed to want to spare others from finding out on their own, or something like that. So that's why, I guess."

"I don't get it, though! Why does everyone leave when they find out it's fake? Is wanting to be loved that wrong? Is it wrong to not want to be on your own?"

"Isn't it creepy? Knowing that someone's acting out a personality just to appeal to you."

"But who cares if it's fake? That's what you want! That's what you need! That's your way to become complete! Why does it matter whether it's genuine or not!?"

"That's for them to answer, not me. I'm just guessing."

"Are you serious? You can't relate at all? After having the same exact reaction. Don't bullshit me just because you're stuck up your own ass on pride."

"Just to be clear, I couldn't care less. The problem was that I was weak enough to let you take advantage of me. I'm not supposed to be someone that pathetic."

"So you really don't care about others at all?"

"Of course I don't. There can only be one at the top. Anyone who says otherwise is just deluding themselves. Other people will just drag you down."

Julia was about to reply, but her voice cut off. It was only a second later that Aron noticed.

The deafening sound of footsteps. An existence demanding their attention appeared out of the trees, advancing calmly. An overwhelming royal-like presence. A mane of azure.

Even without ever having seen one before, Julia could recognise it from a glance.

"A Lunastra!"

They both switched to attacking instantly. The monster responded with a roar.

There wasn't a conscious decision made. Both hunters operated on pure instinct telling them that there was no way to run.

Aron slashed away at the monster. She went for a bite, forcing him to dodge.

Meanwhile, Julia pelted the monster with arrows covered in paralysis coating.

The relentless assault continued until the Lunastra leapt into the air, spreading her wings out.

Aron didn't let up, trying to knock her out of the air. Julia looked down for a single second and finally noticed why the monster hadn't been fighting back that much.

"The ground!" Was all that Aron heard, but it was enough for him to notice the dust covering it a few seconds before it heated up, creating a blue flame.

He rolled out of the way and took a second to process what had just happened, leaving him open to the monster charging straight into him, forcing him to guard at the last second.

He took another second to recover, before pushing forwards again. The constant rain of arrows continued.

The Lunastra spread more dust across the ground, igniting it.

"That blue stuff's dangerous… but if I can avoid it, then this thing can't do anything. I've never fought anything like this before. But… I can do this!"

Aron dashed around the fire covering the ground and raised his weapon, slamming it straight down on his target. The Lunastra jumped backwards, creating a gust of wind that knocked him back into the flames for a few seconds before he could recover.

Unphased, he closed the distance again, this time opting for a charged strike. The Lunastra was knocked out of the sky.

Aron advanced, intending to turn the fight in his favour. All he was met with was a roar, a cry for help.

An object of furious crimson crashed into the area a second later,

"This is… There's no way we can deal with a Teostra too!" Julia thought, panicked.

Aron didn't seem to process this.

She watched him. It was like his brain had cut out. He remained motionless.

A moment slowly passed by.

The activation was instant, like a bullet being fired. He charged straight for the monster, roaring at the top of his lungs.

"I'm not gonna end up like them! I'm not gonna be beneath you! I'm gonna stand at the top! I can't be beneath anything! The one who's left standing… will be me!"

The Teostra charged straight into him, knocking him back. He stood up once more, only to hit with a claw swipe. The Teostra then detonated the powder in the air, the blast knocking him even further away. Still, through a mix of stubbornness and fear, the hunter stood up again.

The Lunastra rose to its feet, immediately targeting Aron. All Julia could do was watch as the two elder dragons took turns attacking Aron, never giving him an opening.

Yet, the man didn't care. He continued to attack, no matter what. As though he wasn't even looking at the reality before him, he slashed away without concern.

Another explosion sent Aron flying backwards. By now, he was covered in blood. He still advanced carelessly.

Julia felt a shift in the air. The pair had grown tired of the man's stubbornness.

They danced around each other, spreading powder everywhere.

Aron ran forwards once again, unable to even notice the danger around him.

The monsters readied themselves.

Aron advanced forwards, ignorant.

"Not… gonna die. Gonna overcome it. You can't... kill me!"

At the last second, a hand grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Use your brain already, idiot!"

The duo slammed into the ground, setting off an explosion. The area was reduced to a hell of flames in an instant.

The pair of hunters were knocked off the cliff, tumbling into the forest below.


	9. 3-5, Temporary Thawing

**1327**

* * *

Aron woke up with a start, desperately getting ready to fight again. He drew his sword, ready to swing at whatever moved.

But, there was nothing there. Just an empty jungle. The sun was still in the sky.

Aron's breathing didn't slow down. There was no danger in front of him, but he could feel it. He didn't know why, but he was unable to stop.

The pain in his body finally caught up, causing him to almost collapse. His sword clattered onto the ground.

"Ah. You're finally awake." Julia noted.

"What… happened?"

"You don't remember? When the Teostra showed up you went apeshit. Then they both did a supernova, knocking us down here. I dunno how long it's been."

"What even caused that?"

"I was hoping you'd know, but if you can't remember anything, then who knows."

"It's bugging me though. I'm at least… pretty sure that nothing like that's ever happened before."

"If I had to guess, it was probably fear."

"What do you mean by that!?"

"Don't raise your voice all of a sudden, I didn't realise you'd be that against it. The reason I said that was cause when I was watching you, the feeling I got from it above all else, was that you were afraid."

"I don't feel things like that. I'm strong. That's all there is to it."

"Alright, I get it. Geez. All I'm saying is that once you saw that thing, you seemed to panic. I mean sure, there was other emotions mixed in, but what was leading it looked like fear. Caused by the Teostra, I guess."

It then suddenly hit him, almost knocking him off his feet as hard as the blast from earlier.

"Ahh. Ahahah. Ahahahahahaha... Hey, you're pretty perceptive, right?"

"I guess."

"You could tell what my weaknesses were, and you could tell what I was feeling. That's pretty impressive. The only thing you haven't told me is the reason why I'm like this."

"No idea. I can't guess something like that."

"That's fair. I didn't even fully realise myself until just now. Might as well explain, now that I've worked things out."

"You don't have to."

"I want to. Besides, why are you stopping me? Wasn't getting me to open up your plan?"

"That already fell through."

"I guess so. But I still need someone to laugh at how pathetic I am, so you'll do. Anyways, my parents were merchants. This was back at Pokke, over ten years ago. One day, we were travelling like normal. As you can expect, disaster struck."

"Monster attack?"

"What else? It was over in less than a second. Something crashed into the caravans, then the next thing I knew I was in a hell of fire. There was no build up, not even a moment's warning. I never even saw a blink on the horizon. It was just… over like that. It was only a few seconds before I passed out, but in that time, I saw it. A beast of flames. The one thing standing up in that inferno."

"How did you even get out?"

"I didn't. I just passed out and happened to get rescued afterwards. My parents weren't as lucky. So, since then, all I was focused on was becoming strong. I only saw that thing for a few seconds, but I can remember it clearly. A force of mindless destruction. I didn't even recognise it as a Teostra, it was only just now when I saw one up close that I realised what he was. Doesn't it scare you? Knowing that something out there could end everything you have, without even thinking about it. I was terrified."

He looked upwards, towards the sky he'd spent all this time convincing himself he'd reach.

"That was it. It was fear. I cut myself off from others because I was afraid. I tried to become the strongest because I was afraid. I was so fearless because I was afraid. That's all there is to it, now here's the part where you can laugh."

"...I can't."

"You totally can, I don't care anymore."

"Isn't it normal to be afraid of things? I mean, I was so scared of being alone I changed how I acted to suit others. See? Everyone does it."

"Just the two of us."

"I can guarantee that currently everyone in this jungle is afraid of something."

"When you put it like that, I guess I can't find a way to argue back. Well, no point in sticking around here anymore."

"Wait. Where are you going?"

"Back to town."

"How are you gonna do that?"

"By walking."

"Not that. The Teostra and Lunastra are probably still out there, right? If you run into them again…"

"I'll probably be fine if I'm just trying to escape."

"Why are you switching straight back to being overconfident? You're injured, and you just now worked out that you've got a phobia of Teostras that causes you to lose your mind. "

"...So?"

"It's not '...So?', it's 'Ok, so what's your plan?"

"If you've got one then just say it."

"I don't."

"Then why-"

"Cause we're gonna make one now."

"...Fine then. But, one condition first."

"What?"

"If we're gonna survive this, then I don't need you to be someone weak. I need to work with you, not someone you're pretending to be."

"That's… uh."

"Just agree."

"Ok. But, I don't think you should expect that great of a difference. I'm not really that great of a fighter or anything."

"You're smart, right? So get thinking. That's probably what we need here, but I'm just a dude who swings a very heavy sword real hard, so it's on you."

"...Sure."

* * *

They somehow managed to climb out of the deeper parts of the jungle.

"If we run into either of them, then our only chance is to run. Both at once would be pretty bad, but I think the worst case scenario would be if we just ran into the Teostra alone. The best is if we don't see them at all, by the way."

"Wait, is it the worst case because of my fear?"

"Hmm… that's part of it I guess. Well, he's more aggressive and his explosions are more direct, so he'll be harder to escape. But more than that, do you remember the fight with them before?"

"Partly."

"Well I guess you wouldn't have been paying attention, but I was using paralysis coating for pretty much the entire time. My main target was the Lunastra, mostly because I couldn't think by the time they both showed up. It's only been a few hours since then, right?"

"Probably, yeah."

"So what I'm saying is that it should take less shots than normal to paralyse her at this point, since she's already been hit with some. Well, I don't have much paralysis coating left, but it'll hopefully be enough."

"Hopefully isn't really reassuring."

"It's all we got. If we run into just the Lunastra, then we can run once she's paralysed. If we run into both, then what I'm gonna bet on is that when she's paralysed, the Teostra'll be confused for long enough for us to escape. In both scenarios, I'll need you to distract the enemy for long enough for the paralysis to take effect."

"No problem. But what happens if we run into just the Teostra?"

"...I'll work something out."

"Well, it's as good a plan as we're getting, I guess."

* * *

They made their way slightly into the jungle.

"No luck, huh?" Julia thought aloud, as the Lunastra appeared before them yet again. "Well, a little, but if we had more than the bare minimum then we-"

"We don't have time for tangents!" Aron yelled, before the monster roared.

Another shape dropped down, releasing a heat wave. That warmth caused Aron's blood to freeze.

This time, he was able to stay conscious enough to understand. He felt back. The inferno. The hell of that moment. The eyes of the elder dragon now staring him down the same as the one that carelessly stared off into space all those years ago

He felt himself slipping. The ground had been pulled away from underneath him. He wanted to yell, to scream, anything to prove that he wasn't beneath the creature in front of him.

He felt his shoulder being shaken about as violently as the one shaking could manage.

"Hey! Wake up! We need you in reality, here!"

"...Sure. Sorry."

The monsters wasted no more time, charging straight forwards. Julia jumped to the side to begin her strategy, while Aron focused on defending.

The Teostra charged into him, but was blocked. Aron felt like he was being crushed, but he had to continue.

The Lunastra followed this up with another charge, being blocked still. She covered the ground with blue flame, forcing Aron to stumble out of it which left him open. The Teostra charged again.

The strike knocked all the breath out of him, as well as some blood. He used his sword to stop himself from falling to the ground, but all this did was leave him open again.

Another charge, barely avoided with a sidestep. As he dodged, the Teostra released his powder. A moment later, the air exploded, knocking him back.

He glanced over to see the Lunastra approaching Julia.

"Need to… get her attention."

The Teostra continued to pursue the attack, not giving him a single moment to rest.

The Lunastra swiped at Juli, barely missing. It followed up with a tail swipe, knocking her back. With how close the enemy was, she didn't even have time to charge her shots.

"At this distance, I don't have the time to ready my bow. So… I've just gotta change how I attack!"

She grabbed one of her arrows and stabbed the Lunastra with it. For a few seconds, she got the feeling she'd won, before the Lunastra breathed fire, lighting up the blue powder that now covered the ground Julia was standing on.

She backed off quickly, but as she was hopping away this left her with no means of dodging the next attack. Julia was flung through the air after being hit by a claw swipe by the monster.

As she crashed back down, the Lunastra continued to target her.

Aron watched this go down.

"If they just split us up, we're screwed."

He waited until the Teostra attacked again, blocking the strike. His stamina was getting lower by the moment, but that didn't matter to him. He pushed the monster back and made a mad dash towards the Lunastra. As he turned his back, the Teostra swung with his tail, hitting him directly. Not having the time to care, he continued forwards.

The Lunastra heard him coming and spun around, dodging his strike. The next second, she clawed at him, cutting into his arm.

Aron almost dropped his sword, having no way to counter. The Lunastra went for another strike, this time aimed for his head.

All Aron could do was watch as the end drew slowly closer.

"That's all the distraction I need, thanks."

An arrow was shot. It flew straight between them. The Lunastra was hit directly in the side. As always, she took little notice. Her hand froze. She couldn't move.

The paralysis had finally taken effect.

The plan had worked, but neither of the successful ones could rest.

They turned their attention to the Teostra, hoping for confusion.

What they were met with was anger. Fury at what they'd done to her. He didn't understand what it was or how, which only added to the rage. His flame burnt brighter than ever.

"So it's over… after all. In a few seconds, he's probably gonna blow this entire place up. And I can't even move anymore. I don't think… I can shoot arrows anymore. I don't… want… to-"

Julia's thoughts were cut off by watching Aron.

Despite his injuries, despite the situation, despite his fear, the man continued to act.

Perhaps it could've been because of his fear, but she could tell. This wasn't the same as before. This was no longer a mass of instinct. This time, there was some thought involved.

The two forces slowly charged towards each other.

Aron locked eyes with his opponent. They felt crushing. Overwhelming.

"Hahh. I guess I really am scared of you, after all. I spent all this time running from that, getting stronger cause I wanted to conquer it. In the end… didn't do shit. But that doesn't matter anymore. What does… is beating the shit out of you, right now."

He turned his sword to the side. The Teostra moved straight towards him, ready to explode with anger at any moment.

Aron swung downwards, aiming to crush his opponent's skull. The Teostra swung upwards, aiming to cleave his opponent's head off.

Neither side got what they wanted. The hunter struck first, pushing the monster down into the earth but leaving him alive. The monster struck second, only managing to drag his claws across the hunter's face.

Aron breathed for a single half-second.

"Again."

He swung down once more, before the monster could move.

As he did, the blood from his head trickled downwards, covering his eyes.

"Vision's… gone. Did he take out my eyes? Wait… where is he? He could be anywhere! I need to… I need to… what do I need to-"

He felt the beast's presence everywhere. In front of him, beside him, behind him.

In this self-contained world, the feeling of being crushed only got heavier and heavier.

"-!"

A solitary sound.

"-on!"

"-ron"

More followed.

"Aron!"

The sound filled the world. He turned to the source, finding a hole in the beast's presence.

"This way!"

"We need to go already!"

Aron somehow managed to see something.

"Oh yeah and uh… can you pick me up? Something or other broke."

"Sure. But I can't see for shit, so I need you to guide me."

"...No problem."

He lifted her up by the shoulder.

"Where's the Teostra right now?"

"He's just getting back up. We have to hurry!"

Aron ran as quickly as he could, being guided up the hill.

"He's charging at us. We need to dodge."

"How far is he?"

"I dunno. I can't measure right now. Close. Like, next five seconds close."

"Got it."

Aron pushed her away.

"Hey, what are you-?"

He gripped his sword tigheter.

The world of the beast surrounded him again, now with no presence that disrupted it.

It was just him and the darkness surrounding him.

But this time it was different. He knew where his enemy was. The exact moment when he would be hit was clear to him.

"I don't have time to deal with you. Die already."

With that thought, he swung with everything he had.

Impact.

He felt something break. A second later, the sound of something thumping onto the ground. He dropped his sword, far lighter than it was before.

"Juli! Where are you?"

"Over here, where you dropped me."

Using the sound, he grabbed her again, before rushing off, having to be guided away.

He only managed to get the blood out of his eyes a while later, when they'd left the monsters far behind them.

"So? Did I manage to kill him?"

"Pretty sure he's still alive."

"Well, it's not like knowing that makes me wanna go back and fight him again. This is good enough, probably."

"I mean even if you wanted to, we still gotta go back to town first. Unless you're planning to fight him with a broken sword."

"Oh shit, so I really did break it, then."

"You didn't notice?"

"I did, it's just that it's kinda hard to believe, and since all I heard was the sound of it breaking I figured I was just hearing things."

"Yeah, no. When you hit him it just broke. Looked pretty cool. Also pretty lucky that it was the last hit."

"Ah. There it is." Aron noted.

They made their way back into town, got to their respective huts and immediately collapsed from exhaustion.

* * *

It was a while later when they saw each other again.

"Yo." Julia began. "How's your injuries?"

"Alright. It wasn't that bad. Only a couple of broken ribs and stuff."

"That's not really something minor."

"I mean, didn't you break some bones as well?"

"Yeah."

"See. Not that big of a deal."

"I beg to differ, but whatever. You wanna go hunt something?"

"Why?"

"Cause we're both here."

"I mean first off, there's still that whole thing where I can't actually trust you, and second why would you even want to? We've already established that I'm pathetic."

"Ahh. So you're still on that. Ok so like I already said, everyone's scared of something so quit it with that. And even then, you already beat it down. Fears are hard to get over, but a lot of people don't hit theirs in the face so hard their weapon breaks. So shut up, you're good."

"If I was good I'd feel that way, right?"

"That logic doesn't work."

"It does."

"Being a human isn't wrong. Okay then, I've decided. I'm gonna keep bugging you until you're finally able to accept that not being emotionally dead is okay. You don't always have to be some crazy strength obsessed dude with ridiculous feats. If anything, you can probably tone it down now."

"I didn't agree to that."

"Then do that."

"One thing, first. You said you'd fulfill any request, right? You still haven't really done anything like that."

"Well technically changing how I acted counted, but uh… I guess not?"

"Alright then, so my request is for you to not fulfil any more requests."

"Huh?"

"Well changing how you acted, doing everything for others, that just made things worse, right? All it did was creep them out or hurt them, and all it did to you was isolate you further. So just don't. Problem solved. Then I'll work with you."

Julia took a second to process the casual way in which the man threw her entire survival strategy out the window.

"Sure then. Best chance I've got, anyways."

As they walked off, Julia had a thought.

"Wait."

"What?"

"I just realised. When you found out about what I was really like, did you get hurt?"

"Of course not. I was just disgusted with myself."

"But you just mentioned that finding out hurt others."

"That was speaking in general. It's one of those things you can understand without feeling."

"And back there, you called me Juli."

"That's cause I was heavily injured, words are difficult so I forgot the last part."

"Hehhh."

"Yeah."

"...You're even less stoic than I thought."

"Bring this up again and I'm leaving."

"Sure thing."

Julia smirked as Aron's walking speed increased, trying to drop this conversation as quickly as possible.

This began their actual partnership.


	10. 4-1, Brothers and Dawn

**1323**

* * *

Dawn.

Two men trudged their way up a hill, looking for a new beginning. When they reached the top, they stopped.

"Look." The one leading said. "We're here."

He looked down on the town below them.

"Finally." The one following replied.

"It wasn't that bad."

"It took us days."

"Could've been weeks."

"Whatever… can we just get going already?"

"Ah." The older one noted as they walked through town.

"What is it?"

"We don't have any money for a place."

"So…"

"Guess we gotta go hunting."

"I just wanted to rest…"

"Don't worry, we don't need much, probably."

They made their way to the quest counter.

The receptionist looked up. "Wait… you two are new here. Who are you?"

"I'm Allen Gilmore." The one leading announced "And this is my younger brother, David."

"Yo."

"Anyways, we should pick a quest. Let's see here… how's fighting a Barroth sound?"

"Alright."

"Then let's get goin'."

* * *

They headed into the desert.

"Ok David, you distract it and I'll focus on damaging it."

"Sure."

After some wandering around, they found their target.

Allen nodded, signalling David to run off first.

The Barroth spotted him quickly and roared, recognising the hunter as a threat.

It immediately charged forwards, stopping just before it reached him to slam its head into the ground. David hopped backwards before bringing his sword down, barely making a dent in it.

As he bounced off, the Barroth shook off mud, forcing him to dodge again. As he jumped back, it went for another charge, this time not stopping just before him.

David blocked it, causing him to get pushed out of the way. The Barroth wasn't able to stop, so it kept going.

"Perfect timing."

Just as it started to slow down, another figure appeared before it. Leaping through the air, Allen brought his longsword down on the brute wyvern's neck.

There was resistance. The cut wasn't as deep as he'd hoped. He fell to the ground and backed off to where David was standing.

"The mud around its neck is too thick, I can't cut through it. We gotta get rid of it."

"How?"

"Well, let's start by getting it closer to the ground."

In the time this short exchange had taken, the Barroth had already closed the distance between them. It interrupted the conversation by charging in between them, forcing both to jump back.

The monster went straight for Allen, but David got its attention by slashing at its legs.

The monster swung its tail around, catching him in the side. It then slammed its head into the ground, almost crushing him.

David ran past its head and swung for its legs again, figuring that was the quickest way to take the monster down. In retaliation, it stomped at the ground, stunning him for a moment. This moment was enough time for it to swing its head around, knocking David away.

"And… done preparing. Hey! Big monster! Over here!"

The Barroth heard him and turned, getting ready to charge.

As it neared him, Allen didn't move. He just stayed in place confidently waiting.

It was only when it was within a few metres of him that the monster understood why. The ground gave away, revealing a pitfall trap.

Allen continued to grin, quickly placing down some barrel bombs. Around this time, David managed to recover and started to walking back to where they were.

Allen took a few steps back, before picking up a rock and chucking it at the barrels, detonating them and causing a giant cloud of dust to appear.

Both hunters waited for it to clear.

The Barroth was less patient, charging straight into view and knocking David away.

The mud was gone. It was now visibly enraged.

Allen just stood there and watched as it drew closer to him.

"Hey. David. What are you doing?"

There was no response.

"I said it's your job to distract it. You're my shield. I don't need a shield that just lays around."

The Barroth had no idea what was going on, but it continued charging anyways.

A figure appeared before it.

Resistance.

The Barroth wasn't able to see what was stopping it, but it could feel it. It pushed as hard as it could, but to no effect, eventually coming to a stop. Its head crashed into the ground, lacking the energy to stay up anymore after that burst of strength.

"Sorry." David replied. "I just got distracted for a minute."

"Don't worry about it. Anyways, can I get a leg up real quick?"

"Sure."

David held his sword out, the flat side facing Allen. Allen ran forwards and jumped into the air, landing on the sword. David then flung him into the air towards the Barroth.

He landed on its back, drawing his sword.

Multiple slashes. He landed.

"You weren't weak. We're just stronger. See ya."

The Barroth went limp.

"And we're done here."

It was night by the time they got back to town.

* * *

"Now then, since we got some money, how about we get something to drink?"

"Sure."

As they were chatting to themselves, someone approached them.

The man was obviously drunk from a glance, seeming to be in a bad mood.

"I don't recognise your faces. Ya new?"

"Yeah, just arrived today. Have you got anything actually important to say?"

"Like I thought, you piss me off. I dunno what you're used to, but you're in my town now, so lemme teach ya how-"

Allen elbowed him in the face, knocking him onto the ground.

"So you don't."

David looked at him questioningly.

"It was self-defense."

"...But he didn't do anything yet."

"That's how it always goes, if I'd let him say like two more words I'd have gotten punched in the face. Look, he's tryna punch me right now!"

"In response!" The man yelled, as Allen dodged around his attack.

Allen kicked him in the stomach. The man charged again, this time catching him, but as he did he got punched.

The fight continued on for a few seconds, Allen seeming to have the advantage.

Frustrated, the man reached behind him and grabbed a knife.

As he tried to stab forwards, his arm was grabbed from the side.

"This has gone far enough." David calmly said.

"Yeah, I guess. Hey, dude. Lemme teach you something this time. I dunno what you're used to, but you're only supposed to use weapons on monsters. For humans-"

David punched the man, making him drop the knife and sending him flying.

"Fists are all you need."

"Wait."

"What?"

"Don't cut me off. I wasn't done."

"Ah, sorry. We were both there, so I figured we were doing a finish each other's sentences thing."

"I mean, yeah it works, but like, some warning or something."

"Sorry."

As they were talking, the man crashing into other people had started a chain reaction of fights between drunk people.

"Let's just pretend this has nothing to do with us." Allen suggested, as they sat back down.

This was interrupted by a woman with a cigarette in her mouth approached them.

"You're the ones who started this, aren't you?"

"Nah, we've got nothing to do with it." Allen replied, trying his hardest to sound emotionless.

The woman didn't even seem to listen.

"One of the plates that got thrown around almost hit Olivia… do you even understand what you've done? You very nearly almost indirectly grazed her face. Her perfect face… Can you even comprehend how unforgivable an act that is?"

"...Who's that?" David asked.

"You don't even know how she is!?"

"Why do you keep getting louder with every sentence?"

"THE ONLY SENTENCE YOU'RE GETTING IS DEATH!"

She kicked the chair Allen was on, breaking it.

Allen fell to the ground, but the woman didn't let up, kicking him in the face.

David tried to stop her, but found himself getting stopped by a man with an eyepatch over his left eye.

"I get that you wanna help him, but when she gets like this it's just better if you let her do what she wants."

"Don't care." David responded, managing to escape his grip.

He was just about to move forward, when he got cut off again, this time by someone in front of him. He was definitely an adult, but looked a lot younger than David.

"You're the enemy, right?"

"...I guess."

His eyes lit up.

"Then let's do this!"

David barely had time to react as the one in front of him kicked off the ground, jumping straight for him.

His opponent threw a kick downwards, hitting David on the shoulder. More kicks were thrown, hitting his upper body.

David managed to withstand the pain before he finally caught one with his hand.

"Hey." The attacker said.

"What's up?" David replied.

"I can't fight like this. It's no fun. Lemme go."

"Well if you insist."

David swung him around and threw him across the building.

* * *

Allen crashed through a table, trying to catch is breath inbetween attacks from the revenge(?) seeking beast.

Allen looked around at his surroundings. He noticed an incredibly tiny girl nearby, looking at him indifferently.

He decided to warn her.

"Hey, you should probably be careful. There's some crazy woman on the loose, in about three seconds she's gonna crash through here. It's not safe."

There was no response.

"Hey, move it. I'm talking to you, kid."

This caused a response.

The midget charged straight at him.

"Don't call me short!"

"I didn't?"

He blocked a punch. Followed by a countless number of punches aimed at him, impossibly fast.

"You assumed I was a kid because of my height, didn't you? You did!"

"Yeah but it's not like I had anything else to go off! You sure weren't sayin' shit!"

"Oh, do I have to, huh? Do I have to explain everything to you the moment I come into range of your vision just to stop you assuming shit? Just don't assume things!"

"Look, you seem like a lovely feral animal, but I don't really have time to chat, cause-"

Before he could finish, the thing he had been fearing crashed straight into him.

* * *

Two more cut David's path off.

His senses quickly ignored the one to the left, who had started yelling something dramatic he wasn't listening to.

Instead, he was entranced by the woman in front of him.

The rest of the world cut off.

Everything was silent. He was only focused on what was in front of him. He advanced slowly towards her.

As David approached, he felt something charge into him, but he brushed it aside with a punch.

He finally reached her.

Time seemed to freeze. The moment stretched out forever, while he tried to find something to say.

As he was on the verge of forming words, he suddenly felt a sharp pain, causing by being kicked in the crotch.

The last thing he heard before hitting the ground was "Don't mess with me, idiot."

* * *

A little while later, both the brothers ended up outside, somehow.

"Ahh. I lost the money…" Allen thought aloud "Looks like we're sleeping out here tonight."

"I don't really mind." David responded "We're used to by now, right? Though it would be nice to stay inside for once."

A group approached them.

"Yo." The woman leading began "You guys are the one who started the fight, right?"

Allen raised his guard, recognising some of them from earlier.

"What about it?"

"So you are…" She paused for a moment.

Allen and David prepared themselves.

"Wanna join our group?"

The idea didn't get a shocked response from the brothers alone.

"Wait, why?" The revenge seeking woman from earlier asked.

"Cause they seem interesting."

"But they almost hurt you."

"And?"

"...W-well if you say so."

Allen found himself dumbfounded at how quickly his attacker from earlier had been shut down, but he still managed to find something to say.

"Look, why would we join you when we don't even know who you guys are?"

"Ah, I guess you don't. Then let's just do that. You guys start."

"Allen Gilmore."

"David Gilmore."

"Ahh, a pair of brothers? I like it. Oh yeah, I'm Olivia. I guess I'm the captain here. Anyways, the rest of you go."

The woman from before started.

"I'm Claire. Don't get me wrong though, I don't expect you guys to join. Or want you to. In fact, get as far away as possible. You're a threat."

"Be nice." Olivia ordered her.

"...You're a minor threat at worst."

Before either of the two could respond about how that was probably worse, they heard someone snap their fingers. It was the man with the eyepatch.

"Dragging out your intro isn't cool, give the rest of us some time." He then turned to the brothers "Name's Lock. I'm the type who hits a hundred percent of my shots. Nice to meet ya."

The sorta feral guy from earlier spoke next. "Doug."

The aggressive midget spoke up. "My name's Beatrice. Remember it."

A guy who neither of them recognised but seemed to recognise them introduced himself. "I'm Nate. Also known as the lightspeed strike gunner, or the eternal flare. Feel free to ask for autographs."

"If you're gonna bullshit them at least make it believable." The girl standing next to him complained. "Oh, and I'm Maria."

"That makes everyone," Olivia finished "except for Troy, who's the big guy. He doesn't really talk much. But yeah, we're the dawn hunters."

She started to pose.

"Are you really doing this?" Maria asked.

"Of course. Now then..."

She took a deep breath.

"The sunrise and sunset is inevitable, you already know what's going to happen every single day. No matter what you do, that can't be changed. So in that case, all you can do is try to make it so that by the time the next sunrise comes around, things are better than they were last time. That's how we move forwards."

"...I'm surprised you can say all that without getting embarrassed." Was Allen's only response.

"Hehe, thanks. I get that a lot. So?"

"Well, why not? We're in."

Allen got off the ground, signalling David to follow.

He got up, following the newfound teammates into the uncertain night.


	11. 4-2, An Introduction

**1323**

* * *

"Now then... " Olivia began "We should probably go hunting, to get you guys acquainted. Well, we're right next to the flooded forest, so why not go there?"

"You wanna split up?" Allen asked David "It'll probably make things go quicker that way. Let's make a good first impression for as many of em as possible."

"Sure."

"There's two quests available… Gobul or a Duramboros, huh? Then, I'll go with the Duramboros. You take the Gobul."

"Isn't there anything else?"

"Nope."

"...Fine then. See you later."

"We're heading to the same place, though."

"Oh. Then I'll see you later, later."

Olivia looked at the remainder of the dawn hunters. "Well, since you guys need to get to know them, why don't you go with them? Me and Troy'll go fight something else, since there's only four of us in each quest."

"Well, I'm not really interested in fighting a Gobul, so I'll go with the Duramboros." Beatrice thought aloud.

"Same here." Lock added, going to join Allen's side.

"Then in that case," Claire continued "I guess I'm on the Duramboros team. That leaves the rest of you for the Gobul. Sorry, I guess."

"Eh, doesn't matter much." Maria replied "They're both pains to deal with, in their own ways."

Doug silently walked over to the Gobul group, not really having anything to add when there were no interesting opponents present.

"And that makes me the last, I guess." Nate narrated, before putting his arms over David's shoulder, having to strain himself slightly to reach but still trying to act chill. "Let's kick its ass, bud."

David remained silent in response, while all he could think was "Who the hell are you?"

"See you guys in a few hours." With those words from Beatrice, the two groups split up.

"So, where are we even gonna find this thing?" David asked.

"Don't you know anything about it?" Maria asked.

"Nope. Never fought one."

"Then why were you so against it?"

"Fighting what I know's easier. Though from how all of you are treating it, I'm not in for something fun."

"Yeah. Well, lemme just explain now. It's a leviathan, likes to hide underground a lot. Round bastard. It's a lot easier to fight on land."

"Which is why we'll be fishing it out of the water." Nate continued, trying to get some turn to speak. "Using these." He held up a frog.

"...Where did you even get that from?" David asked.

"Dunno. It was just on the ground."

"Put it back?"

"No, we need it. We'll probably need a few actually."

"Look, I came here to hunt, not grab frogs off the ground."

"It's part of the experience."

"I'm just here for the hitting things until they die experience."

"Look, it's just frogs." Maria cut in "You won't die. Probably."

"...Yeah sure, whatever."

* * *

They made their way over to the water.

About one second in, Doug already seemed sick of things.

"This is too boring. I'm just gonna go find it myself." Before they could respond, he dived into the water.

David stared at the water in vague confusion.

"Knowing him, he'll be fine." Maria explained.

"If you say so."

"Yeah, I did say so. Now let's get to fishing."

They sat down.

Nate started to explain a bunch of sorta pointless things about fishing to make himself seem cool, when David finally decided he couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey, time out for a second." He interrupted.

"What?"

"You've been talking a lot like we know each other well and stuff, and I guess that's not bad, but like… I have no idea who you are. At all."

"...You already know I'm Nate though, right?"

"Yeah I know that but, I have no idea of anything other than that. At least with the rest there was the whole bar fight, but I don't think you were even there."

Nate sighed, giving a confusing sense of disappointment.

"Is your memory really that bad?"

"...What?"

"It was only last night, you know. I never thought you'd be the type to just forget a battle that passionate. A clash of wills, transcending humanity, never to be seen again after that ephemeral moment."

David's mind was completely blank.

"A-are you sure?"

"Of course. Maria was there to witness it. Tell him."

"Don't tell me what to do." She replied "But yeah, you guys sure did fight. And then I won. Remember?"

David's mind continued to be blank for a few more seconds until he vaguely recalled shoving something annoying out of the way after Maria entered his field of his vision.

He looked back to Nate, staring at him expectantly.

"A-ahh, now I remember. The fight was just… so dramatic, that it slipped my mind. Y'know."

"Yeah. I totally get you."

"That's good…"

Nate went back to focusing on fishing.

David glanced back at Maria for a moment.

She seemed distant. Not just because of the physical distance. She was closed off, uncaring for her surroundings. He was trying to find a cool way of describing it, but was faced with the insurmountable wall of barely knowing any words.

As he was on the verge of thinking something vaguely smart sounding, he was cut off by something bursting out of the water.

Doug jumped out with it, yelling "Found the target!"

The Gobul crashed into the ground, spinning to face the hunters.

Nate quickly drew two light bowguns.

"Heh. Pretty cool, right?"

David turned to him.

"...What is?"

"These bowguns."

"What about them?"

"I'm using two."

"Yeah."

"You really don't get how this is special, huh?"

"I've never seen anyone use them before, so…"

"Usually," Maria cut in "You just use one. Like this."

She fired at the Gobul.

"Hey, I found it first!" Doug complained, before drawing his charge blade and attacking.

"And I was showing my weapon off first!" Nate complained back, starting to fire.

David just kinda watched for a moment before realising "Oh, I should do that too."

* * *

The swordsman swung at the Gobul's side, while Doug attacked from the front, taking the monster's focus. It lunged forwards but, almost instinctively, he leapt out of the way of the attack.

As it jumped, the Gobul swung its tail around, managing to catch David off guard.

Maria and Nate fired at it from the side.

Recognising that trying to hit the fast one was getting it nowhere, the Gobul switched targets.

It charged into David, knocking him back. He quickly stood back up to counterattack.

Doug tried to jump at it, but the Gobul responded by extending its spikes, paralysing him and causing him to land facedown on the ground.

It then started to move back towards the water. David ran in front to block its path.

The lantern began to flash.

Maria observed for a second.

"Cover your eyes!"

"But I'm fighting!" David responded.

"That doesn't matter!"

"Yeah, it do-" David began, before being cut off by the flash of light taking out his vision.

David took the blast of light face-on from pointblank, so he was unable to see a thing. Nate had also been blinded, having been too into attacking to listen to the warning.

"It sorta got me too…" Maria mentally grumbled.

She heard David get knocked out of the way, unable to fight back. She also heard the sound of bowguns being blindly fired.

It seemed like it was going to escape. That's why it was a relief to hear footsteps running towards the monster.

"Thought you got me, huh!?" Doug yelled as he attacked the Gobul's tail.

It continued trying to run, but he jumped over it, switching to axe mode and swinging straight for the monster's head.

The strike didn't finish it, but it stopped it from escaping.

The Gobul attempted to blind them again, but a bullet pierced the lantern.

"As if I'd let you pull the same trick off twice." Maria explained, her sight now restored.

David lay on the ground, hearing all this unfold.

"Sounds like they've got this all wrapped up. Meaning that I don't get to do anything. ...So I'm just useless, huh?"

His sight didn't clear up at all. It probably wouldn't for a while.

"...No. As if I'd just accept such a shitty outcome. Allen wanted us to make a good first impression. Right… those are important. Not doing anything will be a bad start. I have to do as Allen says."

He stood up, feeling his way around. The world around him was still nothing. But he couldn't let that stop him.

"Even if I can't see, I'll show you all how I'm useful."

The heaviest footstep was directly in front of him. He charged straight into it. The Gobul responded with pain.

In the next second, he felt his instincts telling him to block. He listened and got pushed back as the leviathan rolled into him.

Unfazed, he charged for a second before swinging down, barely missing the chance to directly hit it. The Gobul spun around and bit into the hunter's arm.

It waited for a response of pain, but found nothing. A second passed. Its eyes scanned upwards, seeing a greatsword raised towards the sky.

"Right where I want you."

It crashed down on the Gobul's back, knocking it out.

David stumbled backwards and fell over. His sight was on the verge of returning by now.

When it finally cleared, he found Maria standing over him.

"What the hell was all of that?"

"...Being useful."

"You almost died."

"But the monster died first."

She seemed to get more annoyed the more he talked, so he decided to shut up.

"Look, trying to get yourself killed isn't cool. Especially over like… something this pointless. I don't really care, but you'd be better off avoiding suicide tactics. Anyways, we're pretty much done here. See ya back at camp."

She walked off, while the other two stayed behind. They looked at David intently for a few seconds.

"You guys wanna scold me too?".

"Nah, not really." Nate replied, taking him by surprise. "I mean, it was stupid. But it was stupid cool."

"Yeah." Doug continued "You're an idiot. Like, who even takes that much damage to fight a Gobul? But it wouldn't have been as cool otherwise."

David contemplated this for a second, before just replying "You guys get me."

The newfound companions walked off into the jungle, united over stupid cool things.

"This isn't really the ending I was hoping for… but it's a good enough impression, right? I hope Allen isn't mad… thinking about it, I wonder how things are going for him?"


	12. 4-3, Continuation of That Introduction

**1323**

* * *

The other group trekked through the forest.

"Well, at the very least, I'm glad that I don't have to fight the Gobul, but…"

Allen felt the deathstares from behind nearly pierce a hole through his head.

In one corner, the one with a smoking addiction tried to intimidate him, giving off a feeling of "Just because Olivia said you're allowed in doesn't mean I'm gonna trust you, bastard."

In the other corner, the midget stared up at him with rage, giving off a feeling of "I'll make you regret mistaking me for a kid."

The one with the eyepatch wasn't really focused on him at all, giving off a feeling of "Looks like you've got it tough here, dude."

He tried to ignore of all this while continuing forwards.

"Ah, is that it?" He thought aloud, spotting a shape like a mountain in the middle of the clearing.

"Seems like it." Claire replied. "Ok. Newbie, you follow our lead."

"Got it." Allen answered, while thinking "As if I would."

Three of them ran towards it, while Lock stood back and drew his bow.

The Duramboros spun around.

Claire attacked first, unsheathing her gunlance and firing at it.

Beatrice ran around to the front of monster and swung straight up at it. The wyvern responded by slamming into the ground, stopping its attackers for a moment.

Having stood far away enough to not be affected, Allen took this chance to close the distance and begin slashing at his opponent.

It swung its tail around. Beatrice and Allen jumped away, while Claire got pushed back as she blocked it.

The Duramboros immediately followed this up by throwing itself across the arena, straight towards Lock. There was no reaction, he just said some cool one liner that Allen couldn't hear but could still tell was cool, then jumped to the side to avoid the brute wyvern crashing down.

Allen ran up to it and began slashing again, but the Duramboros moved again, trying to crush him.

As the monster moved back, Beatrice went for its head. The hammer she wielded was almost half her height, yet it was swung with incredible and slightly inexplicable strength.

The next to step forward was Claire, her gunlance beginning to heat up. The wyvern's fire was dragged across the monster's body. As she finished the attack, she pulled out a cigarette and lit it using the flames, before raising the weapon into the air.

"Oi, Lock!"

The sniper nodded and shot off three arrows at once. They passed through the flame, piercing the target's side.

Allen paused for a second to think "How long did they spend practicing that?"

The Duramboros seemed affected by all the damage it was taking, but refused to back down, roaring at them.

"I need to use something as flashy as that." Was Allen's next thought.

He pondered for a few seconds, while the rest were busy actually fighting.

Beatrice was knocked back by one of the monster's attacks and was about to rush in, before Allen stopped her.

"I need you to throw something at the same time I do."

"Why should I listen to you?"

"Cause it'll look real cool."

"You make a tempting offer. So, what do I have to throw?"

Allen handed her a large barrel bomb.

"...You know this is explosive, right?"

"Yeah, why else would I be using it? Now then..."

He turned around.

"Hey! You with the good aim! Wanna destroy the stuff on its back?"

Lock just grinned.

"...Yeah or no?" Allen asked, not getting it at all.

"That means yeah, stupid." Beatrice answered, throwing her barrel bomb.

"Hey, you were supposed to go on my mark!" Allen hurriedly threw his after it.

Lock let loose an arrow, hitting the first bomb when it was right next to the Duramboros' spine.

It fell over with a roar, crashing into the ground.

The group of hunters surrounded it and started whacking it until it stopped moving.

Claire was the first one to stop attacking, lighting up yet another cigarette.

"We're done here. You're pretty ok, newbie."

"The bombs thing was kinda cool though," Lock added, "I liked it."

"Thanks. It would've been cooler if the bombs were thrown in sync though…" Allen stared down at Beatrice.

"You go too slowly. Besides, it died anyways, so who cares? You're stuck in the past."

"I'm just saying that if you wanna be cool-"

"Can you leave it for later?" Claire cut in "Besides, techniques like that are only really cool if you work em out in advance, so you can do them without needing to communicate with words."

"Stop self-promoting." Beatrice replied.

"Never."

"I mean…" Allen thought aloud "Isn't planning a move out in advance more just showing off a trick than actually trying to kill it? You're just showing off."

"...If that's showing off, then what was your move?" Claire asked in annoyed response.

"It was a plan designed to kill it with maximum efficiency." Allen lied through his teeth.

Claire just stared at him for a few seconds, trying to work out a way to argue back, before realising she hadn't been paying enough attention to notice any problems and walking away.

They reached base camp again, finding the other group there.

* * *

"So, how'd it go for all of you?" Maria asked as they got back.

"Pretty good." Beatrice replied "Blew it up. The usual."

"That's the usual now?"

"Well if I have any say in it, then yeah, totally. At least, it should be."

Allen looked over, noticing that something felt off about David. His brother was talking to the others without a problem, but he could feel it.

* * *

They got back to the town a little while later, after some talking they left the rest for now.

The sun was starting to set on a pretty drawn out day.

"So?" Allen began "What's bugging you?"

"What, you noticed?"

"Of course I would. So what is it?"

"Y'know the gunner girl? She got mad at me for getting injured."

"Oh? So she cares about you then?"

"That's not the point. I just… feel bad."

"Well, it's not like I can't get where she's coming from. How'd you get injured?"

"Taking it down."

"Then there's no problem."

David didn't respond.

"Listen. I can get why most people see it as ridiculous, but we know different, don't we? Humans… ain't strong. We need to use everything at our disposal to fight against those things. The thing we have that they don't is determination. So… even if you feel death creeping up behind you, keep slashing until the opponent goes down. That's how we'll overcome them. Got it?"

"...Yeah. Got it."


	13. 4-4, A Competition

**1323**

* * *

Some more time passed.

They moved between places.

"Ah, David." Olivia began "We still haven't hunted together, right?"

"Mm. Think so."

"Then let's fix that. Hmm… you haven't fought anything with Troy either, right? And for the last one… Maria, you come too."

Troy didn't show any response, while Maria just went "Oh, I'm with you again."

"Hmm…" Olivia continued, ignoring that "How's a Blangonga sound?"

"Alright." Maria answered.

"Yeah, sounds ok." David answered as well.

Troy didn't say anything, he just nodded.

"Incorrect." Olivia responded "The answer was... loud."

David was just kind of stunned. Maria stifled a laugh before quickly returning to her usual self, stunning him even more.

* * *

The way there was as awkward as expected.

Olivia kept trying to start conversations, but they only got a few lines in before being dropped. She didn't seem to care though, keeping her usual grin on her face the entire time.

They finally reached the mountain.

"So where's this thing usually hang around?" Asked David.

"Up top." Olivia answered, pointing to the peak.

"So we still gotta climb up." He sighed.

"Unless you're planning to fly?" Maria replied.

"Well I wouldn't really be against it, but it's probably safer to stick to the ground for the time being."

They began the trek up the mountain.

"Ok, so here's the plan." Olivia began thinking aloud as she walked.

"What is it?" David asked.

"The Blangonga's a fast one, and it commands a pack of Blangos. If we have to fight it alongside its pack, then it's better to deal with the smaller guys first, cause they'll be annoying. In which case… Maria and David. You take out the Blangos before helping me and Troy fight the big one."

"I'd be fine taking them out by myself." Maria argued.

"It'll be quicker if both of you do it. Though I suppose that with my switch-axe I could probably swap places with David. Whaddya think?"

David took a second to realise he was the one being asked. "Uh… it's fine, isn't it? The thing's fast, right? So you'd have an easier time keeping up than me."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking, just had to check if you're the 'don't care about efficiency, only care about looking cool and fighting big things' type."

"Why would I be?"

"I think everyone has at least some part of them that wants to be cool and special like that."

"It's not really my thing."

"Yeah, right, whatever you wanna bullshit about." Maria replied.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Isn't it obvious? You seem like the type who just wants to look cool. Even above your own life. It pisses me off. You probably can't even fight well, can you?"

"Looks like you're being challenged." Olivia observed, her usual expression still not dropping.

"Yeah, I guess." David replied in deadpan, before thinking "So you think I'm just showing off? I'll show you just how good I am at fighting."

* * *

They reached the top of the mountain. Maria suddenly froze and waited for the others to catch up. Nine Blangos, surrounding the Blangonga.

"Well, looks like we're going with the plan." Olivia thought aloud. "I'll leave it to you two to decide which side you wanna take. Anyways, let's go, Troy!"

The large man followed behind her, heading straight for the large monster.

David and Maria exchanged glances for a second, silently creating a rule for the competition. Whoever took out more enemies would win.

David barrelled forwards while Maria started shooting. He hit one with the side of his blade, knocking it off the cliff. Maria shot, taking out one.

David cut one down. Maria missed a shot, but quickly took out another.

Another one was sliced. Maria took another shot.

David took out a fourth. Maria took out a fourth. This left one.

It jumped at Olivia, who quickly turned around and cut it in half with her axe.

"Do your job properly!" She yelled, before noticing her surroundings "Ah. Well I guess you mostly did it, then. Sorry."

"Wait…" David thought.

"That makes it a tie…" Maria thought.

"I've gotta kill the big one to win!" They thought in unison.

In the meantime, the other two had managed to pretty effectively surround the enemy.

Olivia used a switch-axe to hack away at it, while Troy took its attention due to his height. He blocked the attacks pretty easily, poking with his lance in retaliation when he got the chance.

This set-up they had going was disrupted by David crashing in. The Blangonga was crushed by his blade, but quickly recovered and jumped away.

David recovered to pursue it, but before he could respond the monster jumped back in just as fast, charging straight into him. He was knocked back.

The fanged beast came to a halt, leaving itself open to an attack from Olivia, switching into sword mode. One slash connected before it went on the evasive, dodging around the rest. She didn't plan on letting escape, chasing after it, but got knocked away by ice being thrown at her.

Troy took her place, charging straight into the monster. It was knocked down for a second, before recovering, moving to try and escape.

David saw this opportunity and went for a charge of his own, but got dodged around. The Blangonga swung at his back, but he quickly managed to block, before slashing across its chest.

Maria continued firing relentlessly, now moving in closer to attack.

David bashed it again before moving in for a large slash, but completely missed and was kicked away. Maria took this opening to hit with a wyvern's fire, but the Blangonga also dodged around that, leaving her awkwardly standing there for a second with the gun held forwards, before she was also kicked away.

Both of them looked up at the target, seeming proud of itself for that one. This was then cut off by Troy slamming into it and finishing it off quickly with a powerful thrust.

The other two just watched in silence.

"Thanks for distracting it." Troy said to them.

"...Wait, he can talk?" David thought, before stammering out a "Yeah, no problem."

"Yeah." Maria agreed, seeming unfazed by him talking but still annoyed.

"Looks like your little duel ended in a tie." Olivia observed, walking up to the rest.

"Wait, you noticed that?" Maria asked.

"Well yeah. Acting all competitive and fired up like that isn't usually your style, so of course it stuck out."

"Well, I guess you're right…"

"So anyways, now that neither side won, that means whatever your argument was is over now, right? Neither of you are more correct. So just get along."

"Wait, was she planning this from the start?" David thought, now sort of scared.

Despite David's fear, neither of them could work out a comeback to that.

* * *

The other two went to go carve, while David and Maria stood around awkwardly.

"Well, it's not like I can go against her, so I'll just start. You might be an idiot with no regard for anything, but you're okay at fighting things, I guess."

"Would it kill you to be a bit less harsh?"

"Yeah."

"Well that's unfortunate, but whatever. You're not bad at fighting either, so look forward to working with you."

"Same. If I'm forced to."

"How reassuring."


	14. 4-5, The Valley Fortress

**1324**

* * *

A few months passed, the group travelled from place to place.

"Yo, David." Nate began as he spotted him "What's up?"

"Not much." David replied, sitting down at the table where the rest were.

"I was hoping you'd at least have something." Maria replied. "It's too boring around here."

"Isn't boredom a good thing?" Nate asked. "It means that nothing bad's happening."

"I mean sure," Allen replied "But that also means we've got nothing to do."

"I'm ok with that." Beatrice replied, half slumped over on the table.

"Wait, that's weird for you." Maria pointed out.

"I was hunting all last night. So now I'm too tired to do anything."

"Then just sleep."

"But that's a waste of time I could be using now."

"But all you're doing is sitting around being tired."

"Yeah. What's your point?"

Maria seemed annoyed by the lack of progress, so David decided to change the subject.

"Oh yeah, where are the other four at?"

"Well Lock and Claire are probably going around trying to pick up chicks, like usual." Maria explained.

"...Huh."

"What, got a problem with her liking girls?"

"No, it's not that. I figured she was obsessed with Olivia."

"That's because I am." Claire answered, suddenly appearing behind them.

The only one actually surprised was Nate, who fell out of his chair.

"When did you even get here?" He asked from the floor.

"Just now. So anyways, as I was saying. Olivia is an existence above all other lifeforms, while I might flirt with other women to pass the time, they're nothing compared to her."

"...Isn't that cheating, though?" David asked.

"Well it would be, if I was actually dating her to begin with."

"Our leader's usually pretty smart," Lock explained "but she's unfortunately also the type who's more dense than what most humans consider possible when it comes to love, so even after all this time she still hasn't picked up on it."

David thought for a few more seconds, before going "Yeah, that figures. Well still, that leaves two more unaccounted for, so what are they up to?"

"Well I dunno where Olivia is right now," Nate started explaining "But Doug just said something like 'Something dangerous is coming' and started staring off into the distance. It's weird, right? That's weird, even for him. I mean, in the first place, what bad thing would that even be? You gotta be more specific. Bad things are subjective, I don't get what you mean. Second off, don't scare me like that. Cause like, he's probably just sensing nothing, right? Nothing bad could actually happen here. Like, ever. Completely safe. Nothing to worry about. So-"

The rest of the group had already stopped listening to his worried rambling.

Someone burst through the door.

"A Lao-Shan's gonna crash into the town!"

Nate passed out immediately.

The entire hall went into a panic. The dawn hunters made their way outside, seeing that the town wasn't much different.

"Well, looks like we'll have to get outta here quick." Maria thought aloud.

"That'll be pretty difficult in all this chaos." Allen noted. "We should go find the other two, quickly."

"I just wanna sleep…" Beatrice complained.

Troy was carrying Nate on his back.

"Ah. There's Olivia." Claire pointed to a ways into the crowd, her Olivia-sensor having just been set off.

The captain spotted the group as well, moving forwards almost excitedly.

"Yo. You ready to fight a Lao-Shan Lung?"

There was an uninterrupted minute of silence and looks of horror from the rest of the group.

* * *

A dozen or so minutes later, they found themselves standing outside the town as the elder dragon slowly approached.

"Looks like I was right." Doug pointed out.

"I really wish you weren't, though." Nate responded, having only just woken up. "So, why are we even fighting this thing?"

"Someone has to."

"So why us?"

"Cause no one else would. Besides, don't worry. If I didn't think we could win, then we'd be running like the rest."

"Well, sure. If you say so."

"Don't worry about it so much." Lock told him "We're only fighting an Elder Dragon the size of a mountain."

"Don't use a reassuring tone like that just to make me more scared!"

"Anyways," Olivia continued "This thing isn't gonna wait around all day, so let's get to dealing with it."

The group split up, taking positions.

* * *

The path back to the town was narrow. The gunners stood above the ground, weapons ready, while the rest readied the cannons and ballistas.

The Lao Shan Lung finally drew near to them.

"Hit it with everything we've got!" Olivia ordered, starting a bombardment against the elder dragon.

The gun and cannon fire rained down upon it, yet it barely slowed down. The giant's advance continued.

Seeming frustrated, it slammed its body into one of the walls.

Claire saw the giant draw near and jumped off first, followed by David and Nate. The weaponry was destroyed about a second later.

They landed directly in front of it. Nate's immediate response was to run off, while David drew his sword.

Doug watched this happen.

"Well, I was getting bored up here, anyways. One of you take the cannon for me."

"Wait!" Maria cut in "You can't just not follow the plan as you plea-"

Not listening, Doug dropped to the ground.

David turned his head as the charge blade user ran up to the monster. Claire just sighed.

"Oi! Olivia! Shouldn't we retreat or something?"

The captain scanned the environment, quickly thinking.

"It's fine for now, since we don't have enough cannons! Hack away at it all you want, just be careful that it doesn't get a chance to hit you back!"

David and Doug alternated between attacking and jumping backwards to avoid the dragon's steps. Claire just stayed at a distance, poking and shelling it.

The monster wasn't slowed down in the slightest. It was already almost past the first set of weapons.

The group retreated over the bridge, as the monster passed underneath.

Allen glanced to the side for a second, getting an idea. Beatrice seemed to have the same thought a few seconds later.

He leapt off the bridge onto its back, followed by Beatrice. They started hitting the monster's back, before losing their balance and falling off a few seconds later.

"What are you idiots doing?" Claire yelled, while Olivia silently observed. She had an idea.

"You two and Troy, follow me for a sec. The rest of you keep firing!"

The group went back to base camp, leaving the rest behind.

By the time the dragon had advanced slightly further, they returned, holding bombs.

Olivia looked around.

"Lock! I need you to do something for a second!"

The archer ran up to the bridge.

"Shoot these."

"...Sure." He readied his bow.

"I meant after they're thrown."

"Oh, that makes more sense. The same tactic as Allen thought of back then, huh? Well it's not like I doubt I can do it, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to get a little serious here."

He took his eyepatch off, revealing that both his eyes were perfectly fine.

"...Huh?" Went Allen.

"What?" Lock responded.

"Your eyes are both fine."

"Yeah. What about it?"

"So why were you wearing the eyepatch? Was it just to look cool?"

"As if I need to fake looking cool. It's for training. If I can hit shots only using one eye, then that'll only make me better for when I'm using both eyes."

"That makes no sense, but it's so cool that I am physically incapable of caring."

"Can you idiots stop wasting time?" Beatrice interrupted "I know it's slow, but we don't have all day here."

The barrel bombs were thrown. Lock shot off an arrow, piercing the side of one just as it hit the enemy's back.

It roared, finally seeming to be affected by something they did. Even so, its march continued.

"We're going for it again." Said Olivia, before running off, getting the others to follow.

The cycle repeated, they reached the next bridge. They readied the bombs again.

Doug suddenly yelled "Get off the bridge, quick!"

The Lao Shan rose upwards. The bridge was no match for its size, being destroyed quickly. The hunters atop were sent flying away, unable to avoid or stop it.

For the first time since the hunt had begun, the mountain dragon stood up on both legs. That beast towered over everything.

Staring upwards, David fully understood the difference between it and normal humans. No, he'd understood it since the start. Everything he'd done was just trying to change that. But in the end…

He felt someone hit him on the back.

"What are you just standing around for?" Allen asked.

"...Weren't you just caught up in that attack?"

"It'd take more than that to kill me. Well more accurately, I was able to sorta dodge it in time. I can't say if the others were so lucky, though."

* * *

They quickly regrouped. For once, Olivia wasn't smiling. The tone had completely shifted.

"I wasn't even hurt that badly, I'm fine to keep going." Olivia explained, before falling over a few seconds later.

"You're the worst injured out of any of us." Claire explained, refusing to let her go any further.

"That thing really pisses me off, though." Beatrice complained "How can you just do almost nothing the entire time then do this much damage with one attack? It's stupid. So I'm gonna go hit it until it dies."

She tried to use her still-working arm to lift her hammer, to not much success. But that didn't stop her from continuing to try.

"Stop, already." Troy told her. "You can't fight with a broken arm."

"Ah, shut it. You broke one too, what are you planning to do?"

"I only need one arm to use a lance."

"You're just as much of an idiot as me."

"Neither of you are fine." Lock cut in "Just leave it to me."

"You can't even move!" Beatrice yelled back.

"I don't need to."

"This is getting stupid." Maria pointed out "Olivia, can't we just leave already?"

"We said that we'd protect this place. If we give up, it'll all be destroyed."

"Is it really worth continuing, though?" Claire asked "Only about six of us can still fight. I mean… it's more than half, but y'know."

Olivia continued "Well, I guess more than protecting the town or whatever, I just wanna beat this thing. It's annoying. Strutting around like it owns the place. That's part of my reason, I guess. Sorry for being so selfish about things. Well, I won't force any of you to go fight if you don't wanna..."

Claire turned around, lighting up yet another cigarette. A few seconds passed. She slowly exhaled.

"Let's go kill this thing, you bastards!"

The cause of her sudden burst in energy was a phenomenon that in another place, at another time, would be known as "gap moe".

"Well, I was gonna be bored if we just pulled back, anyways." Doug thought aloud, as he joined.

"And I'm not really in the mood to get shown up by some puny seven meter tall dragon." Allen said, following. "You come too, David."

"Sure."

"Hard to just say put with everyone all pumped like this." Maria sighed, becoming part of the march.

"Wait…" Nate thought aloud "Does that mean I've gotta join this too? Like… go drop my cool one liner and then fight that thing with everyone else…? That thing that towers over everything?"

He agonised over it, before noticing the rest were leaving regardless.

"Agh, fine! I get it! I don't care if it's a god or whatever anymore! Just don't leave me behind!"

He ran after them.

"Wait…" Olivia interrupted their dramatic moment "Have you even got a plan?"

The group expectantly looked at Claire, who just went "Not really."

"Aren't you the leader now?" Nate asked.

"I just decided on fighting it a few seconds ago, your first mistake was expecting me to think."

"Well anyways," Olivia explained "While next up is the last stop before it breaks into the town, not all hope is lost. I checked it out before we started. You see, that spot also has a dragonator hidden in the walls."

With that, everyone's eyes lit up.

The group made their way towards the final area, running the entire way.

"Hey," Allen began "You're not really great at planning, right?"

"I guess. So what is it?"

"Lemme take over with giving orders and stuff."

"...Sure thing, if you insist."

"Don't assume all of us are just gonna follow whatever you say." Maria added, sounding distrustful.

"It'll be fine." David told her "Allen's good at this kinda stuff. Trust me."

"That's really not anywhere near convincing, but sure thing."

They finally arrived.

* * *

The area was empty, but they could hear their target's slow approach in the distance.

They spread out, getting to the weaponry available.

Allen briefly checked the last line of defense, before he found what he was looking for.

"Hey. Nate. Over here a sec."

The gunner approached.

"You know what this is?" Allen asked.

"Uh… not really."

"This is our dragonator. Well, we haven't got the time to test it, but from the looks of things hitting this'll make it pop outta the wall below us. So… I'm leaving this to you."

"Wait, why would you ever trust me with anything?"

"Well the rest of us are all gonna be busy fighting up front, so pulling back to activate would just waste time. I could leave it to Maria, but she doesn't seem as likely to listen as you, so…"

"So it's just process of elimination."

"Sorry, but there's no point lying to you, right? But yeah, I'm leaving it to you to find the perfect moment to use this thing. There's probably only gonna be time for one shot, so make it count."

"...Sure."

Allen walked up to the front, where the monster was nearly in firing range.

"Now then… You ready to show this thing that it can't just tread over us humans like it pleases?"

It finally stepped close enough. The fight began.

The cannons and ballistas started firing instantly, but the enemy was no longer in the mood to just take damage.

It thrashed around, destroying the weaponry above it. The group quickly pulled back.

"Looks like we've just gotta rely on our swords. David, let's do this!"

"Got it."

The two swordsmen jumped down, staring up at their opponent. It finally seemed to take notice of them, staring down upon them.

Allen just grinned. "Let's cut it to pieces."

They both dashed forwards, slashing at it. The Lao Shan tried to strike back, but it wasn't able to hit them.

"Doug! Claire! You two help out as well!"

"It's not like I need you to tell me." Doug muttered, before jumping off the wall and slashing at it as he fell to the ground.

Claire also joined in. She jumped through the air, charging up a wyvern's fire, before bringing it down as she fell.

Maria continued firing from above.

Despite their efforts, the monster continued. It finally reached the wall.

The monster stood up once more and roared, just to let everyone behind that wall understand what they were facing.

"The hell is Nate doing?" Claire asked "Is he too scared to hit the switch?"

Contrary to the beliefs of everyone below, what was stopping Nate wasn't fear. It was instinct. Some part of his brain was telling him that if he activated the dragonator now, he'd regret it. He waited for the perfect moment.

The monster descended slightly, getting ready to destroy the wall. The ones on the ground continued slashing, but to no effect.

Finally, Nate's instincts told him it was time. The target was directly in front of the spikes.

The sound of the switch being hit rang out. Spikes flew out of the wall, straight into the monster. Its movements cut off.

Everything froze for a second. The hunters waited, hoping for things to stay in place.

Their hopes were shattered. The monster began to slowly move once more. It prepared to destroy the wall once again. Everyone was frozen.

"Don't give up yet!" Allen yelled "It's not over! That thing's gotta be almost done after that. Keep hitting it until it goes down! Don't let up, even for a single moment, until it's lying dead on the ground!"

With that, the group's energy was brought back from the brink of death. They roared forwards, hitting the giant with everything they had. The Lao Shan battered the wall repeatedly. The two sides raced to destroy their target first.

It was difficult to say which strike ended the fight.

Rather than one definitive strike to end things, it was more a jumble of attacks. Every one with as much weight behind it as the other, with the intent of being the one to bring the giant down. Regardless of the details, the outcome remained clear.

The elder dragon let out a roar and fell to the ground. The group paused, waiting for something to go wrong.

Nothing happened. Not a single other thing occurred.

Their celebration was cut off by them also collapsing from exhaustion. A few minutes later, they got back up.

"Did we… really do that?" Nate asked.

"Well unless this is just a shared delusion, then yeah, probably." Maria replied.

"I didn't need an answer, I was just celebrating."

"Then do it more directly next time."

Doug remained completely silent, presumably having passed out.

"See, Maria," David sat up "I told you Allen's good with this kinda stuff."

"I mean, I guess." We probably wouldn't have been able to do much without that dramatic speech at the end, so I'll give him credit for that much. He's alright."

"I think you mean that he's a super amazing valiant leader who you couldn't do without." Allen gloated.

"No, I really didn't."

"It's kinda different when you say it about yourself…" David pointed out.

"I know, I know. But hey, lemme do it a little. I didn't even think that defeating that was possible until we actually did it."

Claire got up, seemingly not listening, making her way back to where the rest were waiting.

"I guess we should follow." Maria said, going after her.

David was about to follow, until Allen caught his gaze.

His fist was held out.

"Looks like we finally did somethin' big. Ain't this perfect?"

David completed the fist-bump.

"Yeah. It sure is."

* * *

The Dawn Hunters were successful in their fight against the elder dragon. The town had been saved. This was an act crossing the line between hunting and heroism.

If this story had just been one about a small group of hunters rising to the status of heroes, then this would've been a more or less perfect ending note.

Unfortunately, time carelessly marched onwards.


	15. 4-6, Outbreak

**1325**

* * *

It was a while after the fight against the Lao Shan Lung. After managing to save the town from destruction, the dawn hunters became more popular than before.

Eventually, they received a request, alongside many other hunters. There had been an outbreak of the frenzy virus atop Heaven's Mount. Hunters were being called in to deal with the frenzied monsters, to prevent the virus from spreading too far.

"If any of you think it's too dangerous," Olivia explained "Then we can just not take the quest. Frenzied monsters are dangerous, after all."

"It'll be fine, right?" Allen replied "I mean, with that many hunters, there's no way we can lose."

"Don't say stuff that'll just jinx us." Beatrice pointed out.

They boarded an airship taking them to Cathar.

The village above the clouds was certainly a unique sight, yet not all of them appreciated it.

"Why's it so damn cold up here?" Maria asked.

"Cause we're high up." Troy answered.

"But there's no snow or anything, so how is it this cold? Seriously, is this not bugging any of you?"

"Not really." David replied "What, are you really that affected by something this minor?"

"No, I don't care, I was just observing it. And in the first place, I wasn't asking you, I was talking to..." She scanned around, before her eyes settled on Nate.

"Why am I the target here?"

"You know why."

"No, I really don't."

"Cause you're weak." Doug explained.

"Well yeah, but- wait no I mean no, I disagree with that, it's not true, no way, but even if I was weak that has nothing to do with my ability to withstand cold temperatures, right?"

"Well…" Went Maria.

"I guess." Went David.

"Maybe." Went Lock.

"Not really." Went Doug.

"Ok, that's enough bullying Nate." Olivia interrupted them. "We actually came here to do something, remember?"

"Oh yeah." They all went in unison, causing Claire to give a sigh of "How did you manage to forget?"

All the hunters present made their way to base camp. In total, there were at least fifty of them. The groups split off in different directions, each taking a different part of the mountain.

The objective was simple. To eliminate all frenzied monsters present.

* * *

"Found some, over there." Lock noted. The rest turned to where he was pointing, seeing a pack of Ioprey with purplish appearances. Their leader had also been infected.

Doug rushed straight at them, cutting into the group.

"Don't get so far away from us!" Olivia yelled, running behind him with the rest of the up-close fighters.

They quickly tore through the pack. The Ioprey went down without much fight, leaving just the Iodrome. It was difficult to surround it without hitting each other so David, Doug, Troy and Beatrice fought it while the others stayed at a distance.

Despite its increase in fighting power, the Iodrome still wasn't able to do much to fight against them. Before going down, it charged for David. He responded by trying to knock it away, but before he could the bird wyvern's jaws bit down on his arm. It was then knocked away, finally being killed.

"Oi, isn't this virus passed on through bites and stuff?" Allen asked.

"Yeah." Olivia replied.

"Then doesn't mean he's at risk of getting infected too?"

"Nah, it'll be fine. For whatever reasons, it's different for humans. If he just keeps fighting, he'll be fine."

"Huh, that's weird."

"Yeah. But no time for that, we've got more to deal with." She looked over at the two Congalalas approaching.

"Split up, five against each!" Olivia yelled "Claire, Nate, Lock and Doug, take the one on the right. The rest of you go left!"

The two groups took on a target of their own. The fight was tougher than before, but they were able to overpower them.

The monsters were finished off without much damage, but the group did find themselves feeling tired afterwards.

Not giving them a chance to rest, even more frenzied monsters approached.

"I know there's an outbreak and all, but isn't this way too many?" Nate asked.

"Everything on this mountain must be infected by now." Claire thought aloud.

"Yeah. I thought that it wouldn't be this bad, but…" Olivia muttered, before switching into a more commanding tone of voice "The virus has already spread to this many monsters. If it gets off this mountain, it'll be a disaster… so, for a better tomorrow and all that stuff, let's stop it, no matter what!"

The dawn hunters let out a yell in unison, charging at the enemy.

* * *

The battle felt endless. No matter how many they took down, new enemies kept appearing.

It wasn't as though they were up against a coordinated force. The frenzied monsters would attack anything in their line of sight, including each other. Tactics were their one advantage. Olivia and Allen kept yelling out orders, guiding the hunters to narrow victory in each fight.

When the monsters had been cleared out, they advanced through the mountain.

This repeated, until they felt a change in the atmosphere. Things had gone quiet. It was unnatural.

Doug's head turned to face something the rest couldn't see.

"Something dangerous is nearby. Behind that wall."

The group raised their guards.

"Let's wait for it to come to us," Allen ordered "then we'll surround it. So just keep your eyes on this corner-"

His words were cut-off by the wall next to him breaking down. Chunks of rock flew everywhere.

The rest slowly turned to face the beast. Before they could process what it was, time unfroze.

Unable to guard in time, Allen was slashed at by the creature's claws. It cut deep through his chest. The monster then landed and swung its tail, knocking him out of sight down a cliff. Blood flew through the air.

David's eyes widened, but he was unable to shout anything. The rest stood in shock, as the Zinogre howled.

Nate's gaze was caught by something behind the monster, through the gap in the wall it had created.

"Aren't those… the bodies of hunters!?"

No one knew how to respond.

The Zinogre felt different to normal. It wasn't just abnormal like the others with the frenzy virus, it was beyond that. A purple mist surrounded its body.

Olivia finally spoke.

"This isn't something we can deal with! Everyone run! Quickly!"

The group tried to flee, but before they could, the Zinogre instantly closed the distance between them.

Time froze for another moment. All they could do is watch as its claws slammed down right where Olivia was standing.

Her chest was cut through, just like Allen's, but the monster wasn't done. Successive strikes, leaving her unable to do a thing. The group had no idea what to do.

Claire yelled and tried to stab it, but the monster dodged out of the way. With that roar, the group unfroze. A desperate attempt to resemble a counterattack began.

Regardless of whether it would actually accomplish anything, the cornered animals continued their charge.

David brought his sword down, but missed. As the Zinogre slid out of the way, it saw an opening to charge at him. He raised his sword, the block not doing much to prevent the damage.

Even though he took heavy damage, this presented another chance. He swung his sword down with everything he had, finally managing to cut the beast.

But… nothing happened. He could feel it. Whenever he cut something normally, he could feel that the enemy was in pain. But here, there was none of that. The attack had no effect.

The gamble hadn't paid off in the slightest. But the Zinogre wasn't done yet.

A fulgurbug hit David. He found himself unable to move anymore. This left him unable to even attempt to block the next bodyslam. The wolf's shoulder slammed into his body at full strength, leaving him unable to even think. The Zinogre then flipped over, slamming its tail into the ground, crushing him.

David stared upwards as his vision returned. He was surprised to still be able to think, but that was about the extent of what he could do at the moment.

Multiple things had definitely broken, even if he couldn't tell what. Around him, he heard the sounds of battle, though they grew increasingly faint.

"Ahh… so this is death?"


	16. 4-7, Awakening

Allen woke up.

He was on his back, wounded. The memories returned to him.

"How crushing." Was his only reaction.

"Frustrating, isn't it?"

"Who are you?"

"That's not important for now. Let's talk about things for a minute."

"Don't have time."

"You're not going to be going anywhere with wounds like that."

"...I guess. So, what is it?"

"Say that I were to instantly heal your wounds, allowing you to fight again. What would you do, in that case?"

"Go fight it again."

"As expected. But… it won't work, will it? You'll just lose again. Torn to pieces by its claws. Crushed by its weight. Electrocuted by its weird bug things. Any of these possibilities could easily occur, and there's nothing you'd be able to do to prevent any of them."

"Of course I know that, but…"

"But it won't stop you, no matter how many times you get cut up. No matter how many times it cut you down, you'd be willing to get right back up and charge at it again."

"Don't cut me off, even if you're right. I can't let that thing win. I can't let it think it's so much better than everything else."

"Exactly. After all, that's been your goal since the start. To show those monsters not to look down on humans. Revenge against the ones who so carelessly trample on life. The problem is method. An individual is powerless."

The scene changed. Allen watched.

* * *

**1318**

* * *

A town under attack by monsters. The people were unable to do anything to fight back. Unable to do a single thing, the brothers stared upon the chaos.

One trembled with anger. Anger at the monster's path of destruction. Anger at the humans unable to match them. Anger at his weak self.

"It began on that day. That's when you understood."

"It was when I lost my family, on top of pretty much everything else. The only thing left was David. That's when I understood."

"Humans are powerless. Hopelessly so. We can't do a thing on our own. Compared to those monsters, which can destroy without end, all by themselves."

"So if I myself can't change anything, then what I needed was numbers. That's why I lead David all that way. After all, it was all we could do."

"But in the end, all you could do wasn't enough. Things like tactics and numbers don't mean a thing in the face of an overwhelming force like that. So… isn't it time to stop this farce?"

"What do you mean?"

"You already know, don't you? You're talking to yourself after all. Spouting shit like 'Humans have intelligence and weapons on our side, so we're able to take on monsters'. That's not a strength. That's just a compromise. No… more like an excuse, just so you can say that if you lost it wasn't your fault. 'After all, it just couldn't be helped, with the monster being so powerful.' You're not interested in conveniences like that, are you?"

"Of course not. I want to win."

"Then it's decided. Being human won't get you any further. You need to become like them. Then lead as many others as possible to the same thing, so humanity can finally begin it's counterattack. The weapons humans originally made were to imitate their enemies. But now, those weapons are broken, unable to cut a thing. So, all you have to do is imitate monsters some more, to forge new ones."

"I see. So that was the answer all along. How foolish of me. How do I start?"

"By fixing a minor inequality first. In humans, the frenzy virus does next to nothing, while monsters like that Zinogre get all that extra power for free. Isn't it frustrating? So, just simply lose yourself to that power, in return for victory."

"Not a bad idea. But how would I do that?"

"It's easy. All you have to do is give the order."

* * *

**1325**

* * *

The battle continued. Hunters desperately attacked, to no effect.

David stared up at an empty sky, his eyes starting to see nothing. He got the feeling that the end was near.

Someone appeared before him. He expected some kind of grim reaper, but instead found Allen.

He wasn't fully sure whether what he was seeing was real or not. Allen was different to how he normally was, yet he found him more familiar than ever. His brother held something forwards.

"Consume this, and rise above humanity's limits."

Without thinking, he followed his words.

It was a horrible taste. Unnatural. Something that shouldn't have belonged in this world. Yet, it was what he needed.

His vision and hearing returned. His pain seemed to disappear.

David stood up, standing by Allen's side.

This power was beyond what he was used to. His senses were sharper than before. He couldn't even measure his own strength anymore. The only way to find out how that had changed was to test it.

"Same tactics as normal. You focus on drawing its attention, while I do as much as damage as possible. Now then..." Allen paused for a second "Let's slice this damn wolf to ribbons!"

The two brothers dashed forwards, faster than before. The monster tried to dodge out of the way like it had before, but it didn't work. They were too fast.

David's blade was brought down, cutting through it with ease. The monster howled with pain. Allen followed this up with a slash, cutting through the fanged wyvern's side.

The Zinogre roared and sent out a blast of electricity, forcing them back.

It hadn't expected this. It hadn't even considered the possibility that something like this could happen. It was unbelievable. Yet, it was real.

The monster howled once more and attacked David. The hit connected, the claws going into his side. But, he didn't react. There wasn't even an attempt to block. The Zinogre attempted to pull back, but found that it was stuck, David holding it in place.

A second later, Allen swung for its forward left leg, severing it completely.

More howls of pain. Another slash. The Zinogre roared, barely able to stay standing, knocking its opponents away with a blast of electricity.

It charged at Allen this time, slamming into him at full force. He was knocked back. David attacked from its blind spot, leaving it without enough time to dodge.

The two hunters circled around the injured monster, both sides exchanging hits.

It tried to go for one last desperate attack against Allen, but he dodged out of the way in time.

He gripped his sword with the blade forcing upwards.

"Let's run it through!"

The brothers ran forwards in unison, stabbing into a different side of the Zinogre's chest.

A momentary pause, before the action began again. Allen pulled upwards while David pushed down, slicing through their target.

The Zinogre kept howling, releasing more electricity. They backed off. It tried to move towards them, to strike back, but its power finally gave out. The apex monster collapsed to the ground.

The hunters stood there, returning to their normal selves about a second later.

The rest watched from the side, still failing to process what they witnessed.

* * *

Allen approached, noticing they were all crowded around one point.

Olivia lay there on the ground, having been wounded by the monster's attack. She wasn't moving anymore.

David didn't say a thing once he realised what was happening. The entire group was silent, except for Allen.

"So I was too late." He lamented, before turning "Once again, something has been taken from us. Just like always, a powerful monster takes away from people, without concern."

He looked towards the Zinogre.

"But now, it's different. You all witnessed it. We have power now. We can fight back against them. The humanity that's always losing can be left behind. Follow me… and we can live without ever having anything taken away again!"


	17. 4-8, Containment

**1325**

* * *

It was a few days after the events at the mountain.

The only ones to return were their group. The rest were wiped out by the unexpected appearance of apex monsters. The Zinogre they defeated was only one of them.

There were too many funerals to count afterwards.

"So? What did you call us out here for?" Maria asked Allen.

"Wait, before that." Allen replied "Where are Nate and Claire?"

"They're busy."

"I need them to be here, too."

"Why? So you can spout your shit about leaving humanity behind or whatever again? This isn't the time for that… not that there even would be a time for it to begin with."

"We have to act now, or things like that'll just happen again. This is the time for it."

"You don't get it at all, do you-"

"Ok, that's enough." Lock cut in "Arguing like this won't do anything. Allen, whatever shit you gotta say, pick a better time to do it."

"It's fine," Claire said as she walked in "If he's got something to say then he might as well say it."

"Hey." Beatrice asked "Are you really okay?"

"Of course not. But if I just spent all day inside my room grieving, Olivia'd probably get mad at me, since it's not like that'd help."

Everyone stared at her, not sure how to respond.

"Well, Nate's a different story. I don't think we can force him out against his will. So we'll still have to wait."

"No, I'm good." Nate replied as he suddenly appeared, making Claire jump. He didn't take notice "I mean… I'm still scared. And just shocked. But… with whatever that power you used back there is, I don't have to be sacred anymore, right? So whatever it is… I'm in."

"That's good to hear." Allen replied "So, unless there's any objections, I'll begin."

* * *

The entire group had been gathered.

David sat and waited to hear the full story, not having heard it yet.

Doug was definitely there, but seemed distant.

Troy was even quieter than normal.

Maria stared at him uneasily.

"Well to start, why don't you explain what the whole deal with that was?" Lock suggested "Cause to be honest, I'm a little confused. See, when I see someone knocked off a mountain I usually expect them to die, but clearly that didn't happen here, so what's the deal?"

"Right, that'd probably make sense. After I got knocked away by the Zinogre, I ended up landing on a part of the mountain not that far below, so I didn't fall that far. That didn't exactly save me from being heavily injured by its attacks though, so I was still gonna die unless something happened."

He paused for a second.

"The corpses of frenzied monsters were everywhere around me. They must've been killed by other monsters. At that moment, I was just running on instinct. And the thing my instincts told me to do… was to eat the monsters."

Reactions of surprise, as he'd expected. Even David, who'd done the same thing, was shocked.

"It worked. I guess eating them was the way to close the gap between how they react to the frenzy virus and how we react, since I went into a similar state. My wounds patched themselves up. So I took some more of it, then climbed back up. You saw the rest, didn't you?"

"...Well it did look kinda like it, so I guess that makes sense." Beatrice replied.

"Yeah. It's the same. Increased strength, speed and endurance. Wounds also seem to patch themselves up. The only change is that we're more in control, and it wears off after a little while. It's a perfect weapon."

"Something like eating diseased monster flesh doesn't sound too safe." Maria replied.

"Well, we're still alive, so it should be fine."

"...That's not reassuring at all. You're probably saying all this to try and get us to use it too, aren't you? Is there really a need, it's not like things like that Zinogre are gonna be showing up for a while."

"Unfortunately, that's not really true."

"Huh?"

"The Zinogre was what they call an apex monster. Monsters that overcome the virus and get stronger. Super dangerous things, usually only top-ranked hunters are called in to deal with them. None were spotted before they sent the hunters up there, but we all know how that turned out. The thing is, the Zinogre we fought wasn't the only one."

"How many?" David asked.

"Three more were spotted leaving the mountain. I mean, it makes sense, I doubt that even that Zinogre could've taken out that many hunters on its own."

"So then…" David continued to ask "What are they? Who are our enemies?"

"A Seregios, Deviljho and a Rathalos."

"Wait," Maria interrupted "You're seriously planning on fighting them?"

"You aren't?" David asked.

"Of course not. Let's just leave it to the high-ranked hunters. We've got no reason to fight something that dangerous."

"No, we do."

"What?"

"Don't you remember Olivia's orders? She said to stop the spread of the virus, no matter what. Well, it's already too late to stop it from getting off the mountain, but at the very least we can stop it from spreading much further. So… for her sake, we have to take out the apex monsters."

She would've snapped at him if he didn't seem so genuine when he said it.

"So, now that I've gotten all that out of the way, who's with me?"

"You're right" Claire replied "That must be… what she'd want. So I'm in."

"Me too." Beatrice added "Well, for me it's just that it'd be better to do something than sit around doing nothing about this."

"Yeah." Lock continued the chain "We have to do something about shit that dangerous."

"I'm pretty scared of whatever the deal with the frenzy is." Nate said, "But letting those monsters run free would be worse, wouldn't it? So… I've gotta."

"Yeah, that." Doug replied "Though I don't care about that much, I just wanna kill these things."

Troy silently nodded, leaving one.

Maria deliberated, looking at the others.

"If it's for Olivia's sake… then I guess it's worth it."

"Then, now that everyone's agreed, I'll give the order. All of you are to consume the fallen frenzied monsters, and rise above human limits, to take on greater threats."

"Wait." Claire said "You have to eat parts of monsters with the virus to transform… so how are we gonna get that?"

"Don't worry, I already took some from the ones we fought on Heaven's Mount. There should be enough for everyone."

"Seriously? ...Hasn't it gone bad by now?"

"I think that's the least of our concerns with something like this." Maria pointed out.

* * *

A few days of travelling, and they heard word of monsters in an area being scared away.

The group of nine investigated for a little while, before stumbling upon what they were looking for. A Seregios was feasting upon the corpse of another monster. Dark purple smoke surrounded it.

"Looks like it's the Apex." Lock observed.

"Then we're going with the plan." Allen replied.

Everyone gripped their piece of monster flesh.

"We'll overwhelm it from the very start, using the frenzy transformation. Don't give it any breathing room. Giving it any chances to come back is what we've gotta avoid, no matter what." Allen continued "I'll lead. The rest of you follow. Gunners, stay up here and keep it pinned down."

He paused, staring down at it.

"Let's crush this thing."

The hunters ate the infected monster parts. A change was felt.

Their bodies were stained purple. David once again felt that increase in performance, everything being enhanced.

Allen jumped down first, slashing at it from above. He landed, as the Seregios turned to face him. It was about to roar, but got cut off by David's attack.

The Seregios was about to attempt to attack him, but had a thought. It looked up, seeing Doug descending. It quickly flung himself at him, knocking him out of the way.

"Shit," Allen muttered, before switching to giving orders "Start firing!"

The Seregios was bombarded with gunfire, keeping it from flying. It dropped back down to the ground, which is when Claire attacked. A wyvern's fire burned at its sides, almost knocking the monster over.

It managed to stay standing and swung its tail around, catching her off guard. A scale was lodged, but she didn't even seem to take notice, continuing to poke at it.

As the monster looked in confusion, it was cut off by a hit from the side with a hammer. It ceased to think for a moment, giving the hunters more opportunity to attack.

The Seregios roared, but they were unfazed. It thrashed around, pushing the hunters away. As the monster tried to escape, Doug leapt through the air, cutting it off.

Not allowing things to repeat themselves, he swung his axe down on its head, knocking it to the ground.

The group surrounded it again.

"Target the wings!" Allen yelled "Make sure it can't get away!"

The attack continued, until the Seregios managed to get back up, pushing them back.

They expected it to run, but instead it took the offensive, charging straight for Allen.

Not having enough time, he was caught by the claw swipe. This knocked him back, but in the time that took, three more hunters got ready to attack.

David swung down his blade. Doug slashed at it. Beatrice slammed her hammer into it.

The Seregio took the hits, before shooting out spikes.

They connected with their target, but had no effect.

Unable to find any way of stopping its enemies, the raging wyvern found itself being overwhelmed. Still, that wasn't enough to stop it. A final burst of energy.

It began wildly attacking anything in its surroundings, refusing to surrender. The gunfire continued, but the rest were unable to approach, being forced on the defensive by its wild attacks.

Allen stood back up, staring the rampaging monster. He walked over slowly, grabbing his sword.

He focused. His breathing slowed down. The world came to a near halt, as he waited. Finally, the opening appeared.

A dash forwards, more like just kicking off the ground. He slipped between the gap in the monster's attacks, aiming straight for its chest. Then, he finally drew his sword.

A single slash, cutting straight through its chest. The Seregios almost fell, but managed to dig its claws into the ground.

"That didn't finish it off! One final charge!"

The Seregios saw the group of hunters charging at it, but it wasn't able to do anything to stop their attack. It stopped moving around the same time several blades pierced it.

The hunters paused. There was no celebration, they were more busy even trying to process it.

The frenzy virus wore off. Allen raised his sword.

"Two more left to go. Whaddya think of the frenzy? Wasn't a bad idea, right?"

"Well, I definitely felt stronger than usual, so it must've worked." Beatrice replied. The rest seemed to feel the same way.

Allen looked up at the gunners, who showed the same feeling, even if Maria seemed reluctant about it.

"Then let's keep going… I haven't really made any proclamations until now, so just give me this one."

"Do you have to?" Claire asked.

"Of course. Now then… starting from here, the Dawn Hunters will fulfill Olivia's last request, and eliminate all traces of the frenzy virus!"

A yell resounded, as the hunting group continued their quest into the night.


	18. 4-9, Tyrant

**1325**

* * *

Some more time passed. The group travelled around, before hearing word of monsters disappearing in the Tundra.

"So, you think this is our Jho?" Beatrice asked.

"I can't think of anything else that'd clear out a population this fast." Lock replied.

"Then let's hurry and crush it, before it can destroy much more." Allen ordered.

Nate looked uneasy.

"Don't worry." David told him "With nine of us, it should go about the same as it did last time."

"Being so sure of things is gonna be your downfall." Claire pointed out.

"I guess, but you get what I mean, right?"

"Sure, but…"

"No, you're right." Allen told him "Things will go the same way. We'll make sure of it. We don't have to rely on things like luck anymore."

* * *

They made their way into the Tundra.

"Over that way." Doug pointed.

They followed, finding the Deviljho. It stomped around the place, unable to find any new prey.

"Let's do this," Allen began "For Olivia's sake."

A response of silence that seemed like agreement.

The Deviljho stood in the middle of a wide open space.

David, Troy and Claire charged for it. The Deviljho immediately turned to face them, charging forwards. They both shifted to the defensive, being pushed away as it slammed its foot down on the ground in front of them.

David swung, managing to connect. The Deviljho tried to bite at him, forcing him to dodge. Claire shelled it and Troy poked it.

Their attempt at distraction was successful, allowing the other three melee attackers to run up to it.

"As much as I don't wanna admit it, this guy's probably more of a force to be reckoned with than the Seregios was. In that case, overwhelming him isn't an option. The only choice is to surround him and keep catching him off guard. Now… die!"

The Deviljho turned around far quicker than he'd expected, leaving him only the time to think "Huh?" before getting blasted with dragon breath.

They were knocked back. David tried to attack again, but this time he ended up missing. Before he could move again, the Deviljho swung around with its tail, knocking him away.

The gunners fired from a distance. The Deviljho turned its attention to them. It charged towards Nate.

The light bowgun user had no idea what to do. They'd all expected it to stay focused on the ones next to it.

Allen finally recovered and assessed the situation.

"This thing's better than we expected! Focus on dodging, but don't stop attacking!"

As he finished yelling this, Nate dove out of the way of a bite attack. He rolled, barely avoiding the Deviljho stomping the ground. It was about to use dragon breath, when it was cut off by slashing at its legs.

Doug landed on the ground, having had to jump to even reach, before going for another attack. The Deviljho reversed, knocking him back down to the earth.

It was about to crush him, when Claire stepped inbetween them, guarding. As the attack was deflected, she charged up a wyvern's fire. The attack had little effect.

Beatrice finally got a chance to attack, swinging for its head. Despite connecting directly, the Deviljho didn't even seem to notice. Bullets and arrows were fired at it without end, but there was no reaction.

David ran up to it, charging up a slash. Troy stabbed into it from the side. Allen performed a full spirit combo. No matter what they used, there seemed to be no effect against this enemy.

It slammed the ground, stopping them all in their tracks.

The Deviljho attacked wildly, catching some of them off-guard. The attacks never seemed to end.

A momentary pause in action as Allen was knocked back, watching the chaos of the hunters trying to fight back.

Claire ran up to him.

"Give the order to retreat!" She yelled.

"What are you talking about?"

"We can't deal with this thing. Even with the frenzy. It'd be best if we just left it to other hunters."

"But we have to stop these things, for Olivia."

"Olivia wouldn't want this. I know I went along with this for her sake but… there's no tomorrow if we die trying. So come on, we've gotta get outta here before something irreversible happens."

A momentary pause.

"So, you don't intend to fight the apex monsters anymore?"

"Huh? Isn't that obvious from what I'm saying?"

As she finished asking that, the Deviljho switched targets to them.

It went for a hipcheck, throwing its full body weight at them.

Claire barely managed to block it. Seeing the Deviljho was going for more attacks, she tried to shell it to deter it, but found her attacks even less effective than usual.

It swung its tail around, hitting hard enough to make her drop her guard. Knowing that she wouldn't have time to block again, she jumped to the side.

But, it was too late. Whether it was from her suddenly slowing down, or the Deviljho suddenly speeding up, the rest couldn't tell. All they could see was the Deviljho using dragon breath.

"Claire!" Maria yelled out.

She dropped to the ground, unmoving.

The group was paralysed with shock, as the Deviljho roared.

Allen slashed at it.

"Don't stop attacking! We have to avenge her too!"

That got the rest of them moving. A desperate attack against the beast, still refusing to go down.

Lock approached Allen.

"I've got an idea."

"Are you gonna say to retreat too?"

"Of course not. All I'm planning to do… is take revenge on this bastard."

"Then go ahead. What have you got in mind?"

A few minutes later, Allen gave out another order.

"Stand away from it for a second!"

The rest were confused, but followed his orders. Lock stepped forwards.

"Oi!" Beatrice began "What're you doing?"

"Avenging my friend."

"D-don't do anything that'll just get you killed too." Nate replied.

"Unless someone does something, then it'll be all of us getting killed. So… lemme look cool and do something flashy, even if it's dangerous. It'll be fine. Just wait right there."

The Deviljho loomed over him. He prepared an arrow.

It tried to bite at him, being quickly dodged around. Lock fired the arrow towards its right eye, blinding it.

A roar of pain, followed by a stomp and a tail swipe.

Lock was knocked to the ground, but quickly rose to his feet, as the Deviljho went for another bite, being just barely dodged. Lock tried to shoot out its other eye, but it managed to avoid him this time.

The brute wyvern used dragon breath again a second later, causing Lock to run underneath it to escape. It went for another stomp, missing him but still stunning him.

Lock shot some arrows into the sky as it went for another attack, they rained down on its back.

Their exchanges continued for a short stretch of time that dragged into an infinity.

Finally, the Deviljho was successful.

It caught Lock between its jaws when he was unable to dodge.

Maria, Beatrice, Doug and Troy almost rushed forwards to help, before they heard Lock's voice.

"Stay back! Just for a moment longer! Now then… it's time to finish this, you damn beast."

Allen waited expectantly. The Deviljho didn't even seem to be listening anymore.

Lock raised his middle finger towards it, while gripping onto an arrow as tightly as possible with his free hand.

"Hurry up and drop into hell."

He stabbed into his own chest. The group below heard the sound of barrel bombs detonating, before the monster's head was engulfed in flame.

The group didn't know how to respond, but before they could work anything out they saw Allen jump up and slice at the Deviljho's neck, just to make sure it was finished off.

It collapsed to the ground, leaving them wordless.

Allen sheathed his blade as Maria ran up to him.

"...Whose idea was that, just now?"

"His. he's the one who thought of it, and the one who went through with it. He just asked me to deliver the second strike, in case destroying the head wasn't enough."

"That's not the point. Why didn't you stop him?"

"He said it himself, didn't he? That plan was the best way to limit the number of deaths."

"That doesn't mean anything when it involved him killing himself!"

"He didn't kill himself. The monster did. All that happened was that we lost another ally to those things. Which means we need to get stronger and eliminate the Rathalos, quickly."

"So they just mean nothing to you!? Are you not even gonna stop to grieve!?"

"Of course I'm upset. I'm so angry at these apex monsters, I feel like I'm going to burn up. But waiting around won't fix that. We need to avenge them. We have to be so strong we can't lose anything. That's all there is to it."

He walked away, leaving the rest behind.

* * *

They returned to town, most of the group of seven still feeling frustrated. David was completely silent.

Maria seemed to take notice of this.

"Hey. David. What do you think about this?"

"...About what?"

"About the bullshit Allen's been spouting off."

"It's not bullshit. He's probably right. We have to stop the spread of the virus, before anymore of us can get hurt. It's what Olivia wanted."

"Even if we win at the cost of our own lives?"

"They were killed by the monster."

"Like I thought you'd be. The exact same. Hey, on another note, I finally worked out why you bugged me so much."

A look of confusion. Maria continued before anyone could stop her.

"You're not really alive, are you?"

"I'm still breathing. What do you mean?"

"That's not living. You don't think for yourself, you don't act for yourself. Everything is on his orders, isn't it? You don't particularly care for your own life, so you can throw it away that easily. And that's why you don't see what's wrong with not stopping someone from throwing his away in the same way. You're not a living person. You're just an extension of your brother's will. A puppet."

David was silent.

"Hey, Maria." Troy spoke "Fighting now won't solve anything."

"This isn't a fight. It's just me observing how it is. He's a puppet. I thought that he was a part of the group, one of us, but of course a puppet can't be. He won't even feel sad for the dead if it's inconvenient to Allen's plans."

"Don't just target him because you're upset!" Beatrice replied "You think we're not all sad either!? We've already lost so much! If I have to be the reasonable one you know something's wrong, so just… cut it out for now."

"No, it's fine." David finally spoke up "She's right, after all."

Beatrice looked confused for a second, while Maria just seemed to lose interest. The rest had no idea how to approach the situation. David continued anyways.

"Ever since before you even met us, that's how it's been. Exactly that. I'm empty. Everything is on his command. I don't know any other way to live anymore. That fact's always been staring me in the face, but I just tried to forget it. Allen is the one who plans everything out, who always leads. I just have to follow. No matter what the plan is, all I can ever do is follow along. By your logic-"

He paused for a second, taking in what he himself was saying for the first time.

"I've been dead for a long time now."


	19. 4-10, Contamination

**1325**

* * *

The group advanced towards the tower, almost silently.

A Rathalos had been sighted flying towards it. If this was the one they were looking for, this would be their last battle.

The only reason Maria ended up still joining was to make sure the rest all stayed alive.

David hadn't talked to any of them after that. He just disappeared, only to reappear once it was time to go find the monster.

They climbed up the tower, finding their target waiting at the top.

Purple smoke surrounded the Rathalos.

"Let's crush this thing, so we can finally avenge them!"

The others didn't respond with any sound, they just got ready to fight.

The monster roared at them.

David charged forwards first. The Rathalos was too fast, getting around him quickly. He swung his tail down, trying to crush David.

Allen attacked as the tail swing barely missed. In retaliation, the flying wyvern swung his claws at his enemy.

They connected, poisoning him. Doug and Beatrice attempted to attack, but missed. The Rathalos swung his tail around, knocking them away.

Troy stabbed at the monster, blocking the attempt to strike back. A fireball pushed him back.

David tried attacking again, cutting through the enemy. Just like with the Deviljho before, there wasn't even a reaction.

The gunners continued to fire. Maria observed the situation while she did so, more focused on the positions of the others than the monster.

Allen went for another attack, but was dodged and counterattacked with ease.

"This thing's just like the Deviljho… How is it even this stupidly powerful? No, it might just be worse. The same tactics won't work this time, he's not as dumb."

He looked downwards, frustrated at this situation.

"Hey… I thought you were supposed to give me the power to crush these guys. This isn't enough. I need more. Much more. So hurry up and give it to me. I'll eat as much as I need!"

He took more chunks of monster flesh and ate them, consuming without a care for anything.

The effects of the frenzy became noticeably stronger. The purple overflowed.

He looked up. The Rathalos turned to face him in response.

In an instant, the distance was closed. He slashed straight through, before it could even react.

Caught off-guard, the Rathalos finally seemed to be affected by something.

"We're not strong enough if we're normal! We need more of the virus! Devour more! Until this thing's crushed!"

David followed without thinking. The rest followed with more hesitation.

They were now able to keep up with the Rathalos. Frustrated by this, he flew into the air, trying to escape their reach.

Maria and Nate kept firing, shooting him out of the air. He crashed down, being surrounded.

The hunters tore away at the monster furiously, refusing to relent. The Rathalos roared and managed to get back up, knocking them away. They still didn't stop attacking, no matter how many times he knocked them away.

In a few moments, the increase in power from the virus allowed them to overwhelm their enemy. No longer caring about pain, they pressed on. A few moments later and it was over.

The hunters continued to slash at the Rathalos, even when he had already stopped moving.

The frenzy finally disappeared as Allen realised it was over.

A wordless victory. It truly was over.

* * *

"That was the last one, right?" Nate asked.

"Yeah." Maria replied "It's over. All of this."

Allen stared down at the corpse wordlessly, unsure of what to do. The rest turned to leave, descending the tower.

David stood by his side, awaiting the next order, not fit to leave with the rest.

Allen finally started to leave, before freezing once more. The rest spotted it at around the same time, causing them to freeze as well.

A Molten Tigrex surrounded with purple smoke ascended the tower, before spotting them.

"There's… more?" Nate asked what everyone was thinking.

The moment stretched out forever, before finally breaking as Allen yelled out more orders.

"Crush the extra one without mercy! Even if it kills you, take it down!"

They all charged at it. The Tigrex roared in response, forcing them to slow their attack. Taking advantage of this, it rushed towards them, blowing up the ground as it ran.

Troy was hit by it and knocked away, before noticing another strange smoke rising from where he was hit. A few seconds later it exploded.

"What the hell!?" Maria yelled as she saw this.

"It's got blastblight!" Allen yelled back "Don't let it touch you!"

The Tigrex's rampage continued, trying to strike fear into its opponents. The only response they had was trying to overcome it.

More flesh was consumed. As much as possible. Allen felt his mind slipping away, but he forced himself to focus.

The Tigrex flung rocks at them which exploded upon contact. The group was undeterred, continuing to attack.

David slashed at its side. Doug slashed at the other side. Troy impaled it. Beatrice crushed it. Allen aimed for the tail.

The pride of the explosive predator was being shattered. But it was unable to do anything about it. The power the other side had gained was too overwhelming.

Just like Allen had always wanted, he was the one crushing the monsters this time.

The Tigrex continued to attempt to think, before even this got cut off. What cut it off was Doug's blade digging into its eye.

A roar, followed by wild thrashing around. It took a bite forwards.

This wild attack took a chunk out of Doug's side, sending blood everywhere.

The world froze once more. Allen continued to attack, while the rest stopped.

Doug was the only one to speak, murmuring "It's not going… to end here." before eating all the monster flesh he had left. He managed to get back up, the missing parts not seeming to affect him anymore, and charged forwards.

He was no longer fighting like a human, more like a puppet with its strings being dragged around wildly, with no care for the damage it would take. Against this, the Tigrex was even more powerless. It tried the same tactics as before, but they were ineffective. Whether it hit him or not didn't even make a difference.

All the others could do is watch. For whatever reason, Beatrice still moved forwards anyways.

"Hey, Doug, what are you doing!? You can't just keep taking hits carelessly like that or you're gonna die! You need to-"

As she was talking, she tried to grab him.

In the next second, she was slashed by him.

More blood flew into the air. Once again, the rest were stunned into silence. The only ones not frozen were Doug and Allen.

Doug slashed again, trying to get rid of her as quickly as possible.

The rest all rushed in. Troy shielded the next attack. Annoyed, Doug moved around the shield faster than he could respond and attacked, taking his right arm off.

"What the hell's gotten into you!?" Nate screamed, before he became the next target.

Maria pushed him out of the way of a swing that would've taken his head off.

"Can you not recognise us anymore!?" Nate continued "Can you even tell who's who!?"

He raised his guns, barely able to hold things together.

"Don't come any closer! Or else… or else I'll shoot!"

It wasn't even clear if Doug could hear him at this point. The possessed one dashed forwards.

"He's not gonna stop!" Maria yelled at him "You need to get out of the way!"

Nate started firing, unable to move himself from that spot. The bullets were easily dodged. The frenzied hunter leapt upwards, ready to deliver the strike.

It never arrived.

Nate opened his eyes, seeing Troy standing there between them. The blade impaled him through the chest, but he still managed to stand. Doug struggled to pull the blade out to attack again, to no effect.

Troy then grabbed him, trying to hold him in place.

"Fighting's no good. So let's just… be at peace. I'm tired of fighting…"

With those words, he closed his eyes.

Doug still struggled to move.

Maria and Nate tried to process this scene of chaos. David just watched from the side, having been unable to do anything the entire time.

In the meantime, the Tigrex took this chance. It sprinted away. Allen attempted to catch up, but was hit with some rocks. He continued running, but they slowed him down too much. The Tigrex leapt off the tower, landing at the bottom with a thud.

It got back up, shambling away. Allen ran back to the rest, when he finally saw what had happened.

His response was simple.

"What are you three doing? It's escaping. We need to go kill it."


	20. 4-11, Wound

**1325**

* * *

It was a few days after the fight at the tower. They hadn't returned to town yet. They'd found an abandoned house nearby, and stayed there.

Doug still hadn't returned to normal. They had to keep him tied up, or he'd start attacking again.

"How long are you going to stay around here for?" Allen asked.

"Until Doug returns to normal." Maria replied, not looking at him.

"It's been days. He'll probably stay like that."

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do!? You're the one who caused this! How do we return him to normal!?"

"I didn't cause this. The monsters did. If it hadn't been for them, he wouldn't have had to use so much of the frenzy. Besides, is this really the time to be waiting around? You saw it yourself, didn't you? The Molten Tigrex was nowhere near the mountain, yet it was still an

Apex. Meaning these things are spreading the virus still. The longer we let it roam free, the longer it'll take to contain it. Our work isn't done yet."

"It'll be never done until we're all dead, at this rate."

"That's possible, but we'll just have to get stronger to overcome them."

"Even if we end up like Doug?" Nate asked, surprising him.

"If that's what has to happen, then it's fine."

"You-"

"Stop already." David interrupted, turning everyone's attention to him despite the fact he had nothing else to say.

"So are you in favour of getting ourselves killed, too?" Nate asked in response.

He didn't answer.

"It's not just getting ourselves killed." Allen answered. "Why can't you understand that? We have to eliminate the virus."

"For whose sake?"

"For the sake of avenging the ones who've been killed by them."

"...Look, I get that we were into this cause it was Olivia's mission, but… the hell do the dead have to do with this? They're dead, it doesn't matter to them!"

"So… you're saying we should just stop trying to avenge them?"

"Wait-" Maria began, before getting cut off by Nate's continued yelling.

"Of course! What's the point in this if we're just gonna lose more in the process!? We should just leave the monsters be!"

The sound of a blade cutting through flesh resounded through the room.

David and Maria stared in shock.

Allen's blade had been run straight through Nate's chest, without warning.

Nate looked down at it, his brain unable to work out how to respond to this new situation. His gaze was distracted by Allen's cold eyes staring directly at him.

"If you're against destroying the monsters… then that means you're an enemy of humanity. So, I'll give you the same treatment as them."

He quickly drew his blade, causing Nate to fall backwards and crash onto the floor.

"I'm going to town to find new allies. I don't need traitors. Let's go, David."

His brother didn't respond. Allen waited another second, before seeming disappointed.

"I'll wait for you back at town."

With those words, he left the house.

* * *

The remaining two rushed to Nate. He clearly didn't have much time left.

David rummaged around in his pocket, grabbing some more monster flesh.

"Eat this, or else you're gonna-"

Nate grabbed his arm, stopping it from reaching him.

"I don't want it."

"You need to survive!" Maria responded.

"I know I'm done for without it… of course I'm scared of dying, but… the thought of ending up like Doug did is worse! I don't want that! At least just… let me die, as a human!"

"I'm still not letting you die, idiot!"

"Would you rather I ended up a mindless monster?"

She couldn't answer that, but continued trying to give him the flesh. Nate watched this few seconds, before his panic seemed to fade.

"You're not gonna listen, are you?"

"Of course not."

"Then lemme just explain it. I mean, yeah I'm dying and all, but I finally get things. Nah, maybe I get em cause I'm dying."

"You're not gonna die."

"Yeah, yeah. When Doug got changed like that, I'm sure his last thoughts were something like protecting the rest of us. He couldn't have predicted what'd follow. This virus… isn't something we were supposed to control. Well, it makes sense. If we were gonna go all the way and imitate how it affects monsters, then of course the consequence would follow. In fact, it might even be affecting us outside the transformation. That'd explain… this."

"Don't try to excuse him for it!"

"I'm not, you'd think I'd just give my killer an out?"

"He won't be your killer in a minute."

"No, he will. If I use any more of that, it'll be the end, won't it? So… just leave it. You two should probably leave. I get the feeling that if any of us use it again, then we'll end up like him. Just move on with your lives, or something like that. I'll stay and… sort out things here."

"What do you mean?" Maria asked, before Nate slipped away.

He dragged himself into the room where they were keeping Doug, locking the door behind him. Doug seemed to wake up, trying to break free and attack the one in his sights, still under the frenzy virus' influence.

Maria grabbed the door, finding it was locked. Both she and David started frantically trying to break it down.

"Stop already! You won't turn into a monster, it'll be fine, so just-"

"See ya."

With those final faint words, a gunshot was heard, quickly followed by another. The room went silent.

Maria slumped down, not seeing a point in continuing to destroy the already half-broken door.

David slumped down in another corner, unsure what to feel.

* * *

"I guess in the end, I'm just as bad as Allen, huh?" Maria asked herself.

"What do you mean?"

"Because I just let someone kill themselves right in front of me."

David looked downwards, not wanting to deny it.

"Why'd you even stay behind, anyways? I thought you were a puppet who couldn't care about others."

"That's true. But… I can't follow him, for some reason."

"Mm. That's the reasonable response, when you see someone become a murderer right in front of you. So I guess you're not that much of a puppet."

"I still am."

"What Nate said about the frenzy affecting us was probably right. At least, it'd explain Allen's actions just there. Though then again, someone probably has to have a messed up head from the start to even want a power like that, so who knows? Well, the point is, it looks like deciding to follow him was what led us into hell. I suppose if a smart person had been in our position, they would've refused his offer of power. Do you wanna know why we followed?"

"Not really, but I don't think that'll stop you."

"Yeah, it won't. The reason the dawn hunters allowed ourselves to be led into hell was because of the one we lost. If it had been anyone else, we'd have been fine. But Olivia… Olivia was more than just a leader. I suppose she was like the sun. Here's another question. Why do you think I didn't like you from the start?"

"Because you can't stand people living as emptily as I do?"

"Yeah, but the reason for that is because it reminds me of myself. Well, how I used to be, before I met her. Completely on my own, without a care for whether I lived or died. If there was anything tying us all together, then it'd be her. That we were all saved by her. She was… a weird person. I don't think the way she acted could be one normally expected of humans. But, that was the reason we all loved her. She was always so selfless. Hell, the reason she got the two of you to join is probably cause she wanted to help you as well. But the thing with life is, good people like her are usually the ones who end up being treated the worst, so I guess it's no surprise how things ended up."

She paused, sighing.

"So there you have it. The full story of the dawn hunters, who lost their light and fell into the abyss. And me, who's left all alone again, after losing the group that was my reason for being. Was it fun?"

"Not really."

"I know."

"I might as well give my backstory then, since you've already said yours."

"Huh? What'll that do? You'd just make me sadder. If I was actually capable of caring about you, that is."

"I could say the same thing about your backstory. So it's fine, it's equal this way."

"I guess so."

"There's not much to it, really. Our village got destroyed in a monster attack, about seven years back? He was sixteen, I was fourteen. His heart blazed with a hatred for monsters, wanting to destroy them. My heart… was gone. It was empty. There was nothing left. I guess I lacked a reason to be, so I couldn't manage to live on my own. But he was willing, probably enthusiastic to lead, so I just followed him. When I did that, I felt like I was living. So I stuck to it. Which leads into when you met us."

"I see. I understand now, even if that doesn't mean I'm able to forgive living in such a way. Not that it matters much at this point."

"What do you mean?"

"You said you were already dead, right?"

"Yeah. I already died on that day. The me now is just a corpse he dragged along."

"So then by your own logic, doesn't that apply to all of us? As much as I hate it, without his bullshit, we'd have all died up there. Slaughtered by the apex monsters, just like the rest. We'd already died, so I guess it didn't matter much that we dropped dead later, anyways."

"I can't exactly refute that."

"Yeah. Neither can I. Sure, we're still here breathing, but we both well know that alone isn't good enough, is it? Thinking about it, I guess we aren't that different. We both relied on others to live, even if that's not working out for me anymore."

David thought about this for a few more seconds.

"Then in that case, I have something to fix."

"What, are you gonna run off and die too?"

"I don't know. But what I do know is… I'm done living like I'm dead. If I just do nothing and follow… who knows how many are gonna get caught up by the virus' effects because of Allen. I can't let that continue."

"So you're acting the hero now?"

"Not really. I'm just setting things the way they should be. The dead need to stay dead."

With those words, he departed. The sounds of someone finally being left alone to process everything were carried by the winds, but he decided to ignore them.

* * *

Allen continued down the path, the town almost in sight.

He heard footsteps behind him.

"Ah, David. So you finally decided to join me."

David stared at him for a few seconds. Allen's face showed a mix of confusion and understanding.

"I can't let you continue any further."

"I see."

The sun was starting to set.


	21. 4-12, Brothers and Dusk

**1325**

* * *

The two Gilmore brothers stood in the middle of the path, staring each other down.

"So then, why are you against this?" Allen asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" David asked back.

"Not really."

"Because if you keep at this who knows how many are gonna die."

"And how many more will die if we do nothing?"

"Don't know. But I also don't care, so there's that."

"Just because you don't care doesn't mean it isn't a problem. You saw how many died on Heaven's Mount because of them. No, how many died back at the village? Or in all of history?"

"And how many died in the dawn hunters?"

"How many times do I have to say they were killed by the monsters?"

"They wouldn't have been if they weren't fighting them to begin with."

"So? Are we just supposed to let them run free? Their sacrifices weren't in vain, that's the part that matters."

David looked down for a second.

"What even caused this? I think I already know already, but…"

"You do already know. It was on that day, where we saw how powerless humans are, that I realised monsters had to be eliminated. I could ask you the same question. What caused you to turn against me?"

"Watching everyone die."

"I see. Then there's nothing more I can do, if they've already convinced you."

"Next question. How far are you willing to go to wipe out the virus?"

"What do you mean specifically?"

"How many are you willing to get killed?"

"As many as are needed. It's not like I've worked out an exact number or something. Humans are weak. I thought that the virus would fix that… but it's still not enough. The monsters keep getting stronger regardless. If all we can do is die to pave the way for a better world, then that's what we have to do."

"...At this point, words aren't gonna solve anything, are they?"

"I've already decided my course of action. I believe you've done the same. There's no stopping things now."

David took a deep breath to prepare himself, before drawing his sword, pointing it towards Allen.

Allen froze up for a single moment before doing the same.

The two Gilmore brothers stood face to face, their weapons readied. Neither could say whether this fight was completely unexpected, or if it had been inevitable from the very beginning.

Without any words left, the pair dashed towards one another.

* * *

Allen swung first, slicing at David's chest. The cut was shallow. David swung down, grazing his brother's arm in response.

"He's stronger than I am," Allen thought "That's how it's always been. So I need to be more agile. If this turns into a test of strength, I'm gonna lose."

"He's smarter than I am", David thought "That's how it's always been. So I need to corner him. Turning it into a test of strength is the only way I'm gonna win."

They closed in again, trying desperately to turn things to their advantage. Both knew that a direct clash would result in Allen's sword breaking first.

He used the lighter blade to swing quickly, going for David's legs. One cut got in, before he blocked the next, sending Allen back. Refusing to give him the space, he closed in while swinging overhead.

The swing barely missed, cutting into the dirt. Allen, who had stepped around, stabbed into David's right shoulder, pushing him back. In response, David grabbed his sword with his left hand and swung upwards, cutting into Allen's right arm.

They stumbled backwards for a second, trying to assess the other.

Allen decided on a plan, going on the attack first. An overhead strike, more predictable than his last attacks. David deflected it, seeming to push him off-guard, before going on the attack.

David suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He looked down, seeing that Allen had used his free hand to stab him with his carving knife.

The second of distraction was also a part of Allen's trap, as he swung his sword again. David managed to just react quick enough to avoid the attack. It cut part of his face, but missed anything vital.

David stepped backwards, feeling the blood drip down his face.

"This hurts… it seriously hurts. Have I gotten weaker? Before something like this wouldn't have even slowed me down. I guess this is the pain that comes with living like a person, rather than as a puppet. But…"

He stared at Allen, sheathing his blade again as he planned another attack.

"I can't go back!"

He took the offensive this time. Allen slashed at him, but missed. David then got out his own carving knife and tried to stab Allen, but his movements were too obvious, so the stab was easily dodged. As Allen stepped out of the way, David knocked him down with a kick.

He brought his sword down, but barely missed. Allen quickly got to his feet and stabbed him in the stomach again, but with the sword this time.

David swung around, barely slicing at him again.

They closed the distance between them to slash again. Both strikes connected, sending blood flying.

They faced each other again and slashed again. This process repeated, both sides losing more blood than they thought possible.

Eventually, they were both left bleeding and out of breath, yet still refusing to fall.

Allen swung first, going horizontal. He was too hasty. David saw it coming and swung in the same way. It was too late to avoid the direct confrontation.

A momentary spark, before one side shattered.

The fragments of Allen's broken blade flew through the air. They clattered to the ground, as the two brothers paused.

"Just surrender already. It's over." David told him "We don't have to continue anymore."

"You know that I can't stop." Allen replied.

"Let's just return to living normally, like we were before!"

"I can't. There's already too much blood on my hands. Even if there wasn't… my soul refuses. From that very day, all I've wanted is to destroy those monsters. No, saying that I just want is too weak. The idea that they still roam around destroying so carelessly disgusts me, it torments me. Even if I were to stop this quest, that won't ever leave me. I can't return to our normal life anymore. This is the only path available to me. No matter where it takes me, I must follow it to the end."

He grabbed some more monster flesh. David rushed forwards.

"Stop!" David yelled "We can still-"

Allen bit down.

The change was instantaneous. In a single moment, the purple tainted his body completely.

A roar.

David knew that his brother was no longer there anymore.

* * *

The frenzied leader charged at David. He tried to counter, but was too slow for him. A punch that felt far stronger than what a person should be able to pull off hit him, stealing his breath.

David tried to recover, but Allen didn't need that time, so he went for another attack.

David blocked, but all this resulted in was his right arm breaking. He barely gripped his sword with his left hand and swung with everything he had.

The swing entered Allen's side, but he didn't even react.

David now understood the feelings of the monsters who'd had to fight against this. It was an overwhelming change in power. Unlike them however, he didn't have any power of his own, so against even just one he was helpless.

Allen beat him some more, before grabbing him by the throat. He began to strangle him.

David struggled in response. He tried to get Allen away from him, but couldn't shake him off with just one arm.

His sword had been dropped out of reach. His carving knife had been left on the ground somewhere. This left him with only one weapon.

He went for his last piece of monster flesh.

"This is… fine. If I can stop you, then it's worth it. I didn't… care about surviving from the start."

He raised it towards his mouth.

Before he could bite down, gunshots were heard. They connected with the side of Allen's head, knocking him down. His grip weakened, sending David crashing down with him.

"What, did you think that becoming the same as him would've solved things? There still would've been a monster left over, no matter what happened."

Maria asked that as she stepped out of hiding. Her eyes were redder than before.

David didn't answer that, just staring downwards.

"How long were you there for?"

"Not long. I showed up as he transformed."

"Oh. I guess the more important question is why did you even follow me?"

"Not sure."

"That's not satisfying at all."

"I know, but that doesn't change it. I've got no idea. I just felt like it."

She was interrupted by sounds from where Allen lay. He slowly began to move again, dragging himself towards them, his eyes only seeking to destroy.

Maria raised her gun, but David stopped her. He grabbed his sword off the ground.

Allen continued to pull himself forwards desperately.

David raised his blade into the air.

"See you around, brother."

The blade slammed back down into the earth. The mangled corpse finally stopped moving.

David stood there for a moment, before collapsing backwards.

The sun had finally disappeared.

* * *

He stared blankly. He wasn't sure how long he'd been there for. Maria didn't move either.

"I guess I just lost my reason to live. So how's your day going?" Was all he came up with after a while.

"About the same."

"Well, in my case it's more like I took it away myself. Hmm… I guess you were right about me not being human. Even now, after killing my own brother, I still can't feel as sad as I should. I'm just… confused."

"I'd tell you that you saved a lot of lives by doing it, but I don't think that'll clear things up for you. It's just… how it is."

David continued to stare blankly.

"I should probably change the subject," Maria continued "What do you plan to do now?"

"No idea."

"So you're just planning to die?"

David didn't respond. Maria kicked him after a few seconds.

"Seriously, I thought you were done with living like you're dead!? You're still alive, you know? Deal with it already!"

"Don't yell all of a sudden. Look, I just don't know. I have no idea what to do anymore, or how to live."

Maria kicked him again.

"Why this time!?"

"To get attention, I guess."

"For what?"

"I had an idea. Well, it's more just a thought. But back to the point, I know I've decided to continue and all, but even for me it'll be a bit difficult alone. I don't want… to be alone again. I don't think I'll be able to handle it. So since you're right here, that's convenient, right?"

David started to get up.

"Ah. No living just cause I told you to. This is what caused this problem to begin with, didn't it? So let's put it like this."

She paused for dramatic effect.

"I can't save you. But if you're willing to stand back up, and really live… then I can at least lend you a shoulder to lean on."

David considered this for a few seconds longer.

"Fine then, sure. We'll go with that." He finally stood up, before almost falling over. "I might have to actually take you up on the shoulder thing though."

"Heh? I was being figurative. I can barely stand myself, you know?"

"I just barely got out of a deathmatch, how do you expect me to stand?"

"Ahh, no choice then. You support me, and I'll support you. That works, right?"

"Yeah, probably."

The two dragged each other forwards through the night.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask." David thought aloud.

"What?"

"Have you even got any plans in mind?"

"I can't think of something this quick, you know?"

"We can't just return to how we were before."

"I guess. To start, we need to try somewhere new. Everywhere else… just has too many memories."

"I guess. All right then… even if we're dead, let's keep living."

"It's unlike you to say something like that. I thought I was the one forcing all the corny lines out here."

"I just felt like it. I felt that if I didn't say something like that, then I wouldn't be able to make myself continue."

With no idea what awaited them, the two forced each other forwards, resolved to continue living no matter what.

* * *

**1317**

* * *

The older brother dragged the younger brother across the hills.

They finally came to a stop, his strength having given out.

The younger brother still didn't respond. His heart was beating, but that was the only thing that still resembled living.

"It looks like we're the only ones who made it out." The older brother thought. "No, maybe it's just me."

The older brother's heart still burnt with a furious hatred for the monsters. The desire for revenge overshadowed anything else. But, he knew that alone he couldn't do anything.

Humans were powerless. After watching so many crushed, that was the one thing he knew best. Even if they weren't physically harmed, all it took was a little to shatter their soul.

An idea appeared.

"If I can eliminate the monsters, perhaps he'll return. Yeah… that must be it. They caused him to become like this, so if I can just get rid of it he'll return to living. But for the time being…"

He finally spoke.

"Stand up."

The younger brother followed mindlessly. Despite his being so tired he shouldn't have been able to move anymore, it was performed with ease.

He wasn't sure why he had the idea to give him the orders. But it worked. If his brother had lost his ability to live, then all he had to do was tell him how to live.

Until he returned to the world of the living, he would follow any order, without question. The older brother didn't have any idea of how long it would take, but the method was clear in his mind. All they had to do was hunt and destroy the monsters that had taken things away from them.

The brothers continued onwards, looking for a new beginning.


	22. 5-1, The First Three

Fallon Bachika.

A woman who, at least according to public records, appeared out of nowhere one day and took the hunter's guild by storm.

A sensational talent for combat, good mind for tactics and the ability to seemingly never be affected by a single thing around her.

In just a few short years, she took the position of leader.

She was seemingly always alone, never hunting in a group.

One day, strange reports came in.

"A swordsman who can see into the future, huh?"

"Yes. We're getting reports from multiple locations about a swordsman travelling around and getting into fights. According to the ones he fights, he seems to know their moves before they even get a chance to make."

"Hmm… interesting. In that case, I'm off."

"Wait, can't you leave investigating this to someone else?"

"Investigating something that abnormal is a part of our work too, right? So it's fine."

Fallon departed for the region where the swordsman had been sighted most recently. After some searching, she finally found what she was looking for.

The blond man walked with his face turned down, trying to cover his face. He stopped, feeling the presence in front of him.

"So are you the swordsman who can see the future?" She asked him.

There was no answer.

She waited for a few seconds, but he didn't respond. The warrior remained completely stationary.

Fallon waited for a few more seconds before losing her patience and checking his thoughts.

"Why is another one here? I don't want to deal with this. Why do people keep coming out of nowhere to challenge me? This is all such a pain. What did I even do to deserve this? I don't do anything to any of you! I'm just walking past you! What do you mean with all the "fighting spirit" crap!? I don't get it! Should I just run? Ah, no, I can't, my legs have already frozen up!"

"Oh, so that's how he is." Fallon thought.

She had a change of plans.

"I'm not here to fight you."

The swordsman instantly relaxed.

"Though, I do need to test you."

Before he could tense up again, she closed the distance between them instantly. She swung her carving knife past his shoulder. A flash of blue activated before she hit, but nothing happened.

The swordsman swung at her, she blocked the slash with her knife before going for another slash, this time aimed at his shoulder.

The swordsman dodged around the attack and stabbed at her, but it didn't affect her. He retreated quickly.

She scanned his thoughts again.

"Weren't you supposed to stop attacking? Why did you still attack? I don't get it! I don't even wanna fight people…"

"Ok, that's enough." Fallon spoke again "So then, question, why didn't you dodge the first strike?"

"Because it wasn't going to hit, obviously." He thought back.

"I see." She continued talking "Then the next question. What do you seek revenge on?"

"Huh? What kinda question is that? Wait, did I even answer the first one? Whatever, focus. I seek revenge on monsters. If I can see into the future, then I won't keep being so scared that I can't do anything."

"Do you want to join the hunter's guild?"

The swordsman finally spoke.

"Why?"

"Let me explain things. You're what we call a warrior. People with a noticeable battle aura, that blue thing. Your ability to see into the future is a manifestation of that spirit. I'm the same way, though my manifestation's a bit different. The manifestation changes depending on the warrior, so this is my first time seeing something like that. Ah, I should correct myself. I say we, but as far as I'm aware I'm the only warrior currently working for the guild. So, we need more allies. That's why I'm inviting you."

He processed this information, only coming up with a single question.

"If I join, will people stop starting fights with me?"

Fallon decided it'd be best to lie.

"Yeah, definitely."

"Then, sure."

"Oh yeah, we haven't gone over names yet. I'm Fallon Bachika. The leader of the guild. And you are?"

"...Lion Hart. Wandering swordsman."

"What kind of protagonist name is that?" Fallon thought.

The Hunter's Guild gained its second warrior.

* * *

A short while later, Fallon found herself being followed.

"So? Who are you?"

"You noticed me?" The man with glasses answered as he stepped out of hiding.

"Oh, no, of course I didn't, that's why I called you out and all. Really though, you've gotta try a little harder if you wanna not get noticed."

"My apologies, sneaking around isn't really my thing. I might as well be upfront. I'm Roy Tanner. For whatever reason, I have the ability to instantly understand anything about a target. Their height, weaknesses, strengths and weaknesses, that sorta stuff. So, I figured it'd be fun to measure someone like you, Fallon Bachika. I mean, being the leader of the guild is one thing, somehow convincing that fearsome clairvoyant swordsman to work under you is another."

"Oh, so that's how people interpreted it." She thought.

"So anyways, just let me scan you for a moment."

Blue appeared.

The man's eyes widened.

"So you're one of us, too." Fallon observed. "Are you interested in becoming a hunter?"

"Well, I never was before, but after seeing that… I'm starting to change my mind."

She gave him the explanation of how warriors worked.

"So, was that clairvoyant swordsman a warrior too?"

"Yeah. Reading actions before they happen is his manifestation. I was planning to keep mine a secret until you actually joined, but I think it's too late for that now."

"No need to worry. There's no way I don't plan to work under you."

"One question first."

"What?"

"What do you seek revenge on?"

"My own lack of understanding."

"Hmm. That's not exactly ideal, but just direct your power at monsters and we'll be good."

The number of warriors increased again.

* * *

A short while, there were more reports. A man with muscles like iron, going around fighting anything that looked strong.

Once again, Fallon went to investigate, bringing the other warriors with her this time.

They found him resting under a tree.

"Hmm?" He made a noise upon noticing them "Do you three want to fight too? My muscles are unbreakable, just letting you know."

"Yeah. That's exactly why we're here." Fallon answered. She looked over to Roy.

He analysed him. The muscular man jumped back when he saw the blue, but the rest paid no attention to him.

"Yep." Roy answered "He's not normal. No question about it. He must be another warrior."

"Alright then…" Fallon turned her attention back to the muscular man "Wanna join the hunter's guild?"

"Hunting monsters, huh? Well that could be a good workout, but it doesn't interest me much. The only way that I, Muskular Musuiloso, will start working for someone is if they can beat me in a fight."

"Got it-" Fallon said as she stepped forwards, before being cut off by Musk continuing.

"You there, blondie. I feel like I've heard about you before… Aren't you that swordsman that can see the future? Now that'd make for an interesting fight. My muscles versus your… future sight shit."

"Why does this always happen?" Lion thought.

Fallon felt slightly annoyed about getting brushed aside, but decided to just roll with it.

"You heard him, Lion. Get to it."

"Every single time." He continued to think as he stepped forwards.

"Let's begin, sword shrimp!"

Musk threw a punch. Lion dodged around with ease, the attack too slow for him. A kick was also thrown, but this failed to reach him.

The giant continued attacking wildly, while the swordsman continued dodging gracefully. One of Musk's punches connected with a tree, snapping it in half instantly.

After a minute, Musk came to a stop.

"What's wrong!? Why haven't you attacked!? All you're doing is dodging! Take this seriously!"

Fallon read Lion's thoughts for a moment.

"Of course I can't fight back! Your punches can split trees in half, the thought of one hitting me is way too scary! Ahh, I'm done with this, I'm done with everything! I wanna go home! Why do I have to always do this, I'm sick of this, it's scary!"

Fallon decided to cover for him.

"My subordinate appears to have lost interest in fighting with you." She explained.

"You stuck up-"

"Don't interrupt when I'm not done speaking. In his place, how about I take you on?"

"Sure thing."

Fallon stepped forwards. Musk threw another punch. She tried to block.

She was technically successful, but that didn't stop it from knocking her backwards, crashing through the trees.

"Ok, I think I get why Lion was so scared now." She thought as she picked herself up "In that case, I'll just have to start taking things seriously."

Second gear.

Her movement speed increased, allowing her to get near him before he could react.

Double force.

With increased strength, she punched his face.

"That reinforcement's tough… this won't be easy if I just use my hands."

Musk threw a punch, being easily dodged. Fallon struck back, before dodging some more. Her dodging ability wasn't as good as Lion, so after a few attacks she found herself about to get it.

Untouchable.

Defying logic, she pulled herself out of the way of the punch.

Musk stared in confusion, having no idea what he just saw.

"All right, I'm getting sick of this. Let's just go all out."

Exceed.

Her power increased. Using all the techniques from before, she finished the fight in about five seconds.

Musk stared up at the sky, not moving.

The other three waited, trying to see how he'd respond. Fallon was slightly worried he'd call all those formations she used cheating, so they'd just go back to where they started.

He finally lept up.

"Those techniques were cool as hell! We've both got the blue stuff, right? How do you do that!?"

"Glad you liked them. I'd be willing to explain, but one condition first. You have to start working under me."

"Sure." He replied with even less thought than normal.

After getting over at shock at how easy that was, she gave the same explanation she'd given to the other two.

He responded without much surprise, leading Fallon to suspect he wasn't actually learning in the slightest, but as long as got the gist it was probably fine.

"Wait, a final question before you can join."

"Go on."

"What do you seek revenge on?"

Lion and Roy stared in silence as they both realised she used the line on any warrior she met.

"Weakness. The very concept of it. If other people are weak I don't care much, but the idea of it being associated with me is disgusting."

"In that case, your training from now on consists of fighting monsters exclusively."

"That's fine. I'll destroy however many monsters need destroying until I'm strong enough to challenge you."

Fallon's only response was a grin.

"If it'll make you work harder, you're free to try to beat the shit out of me any time you want."

So, after some false bravado on their leader's part, the number of warriors increased again.


	23. 5-2, An Additional Four

Another report arrived, this time of a musician who was using her hunting horn to heal people, more effectively than normal songs from one.

Fallon went to investigate. She figured she'd found her target when she found a hut in the middle of a forest with loud music coming from inside.

She knocked on the door. No response. The music replied. She looked through the window, seeing the musician rocking out, unaware of the outside world.

Fallon tried to get her attention a few more times, before getting tired and kicking the door down.

The musician finally noticed the outside world.

"What are you doing breaking into someone's house!?"

"What are you doing playing so loudly you can't notice anyone trying to get your attention!? Aren't you the healer musician or whatever!?"

"Oh, that's what you're here for. Then…"

She took a deep breath, before posing with her finger raised towards the roof. Then she started to play her hunting horn again.

"Yo! I'm the one you're looking for! The legendary musician! The blazing constellation! Hitoiki Costelli! The one who can heal any wound with her music! That's what you're here for, right!?"

She then stopped playing, but kept talking.

"Well from how easily you kicked the door down, I don't think you really need healing. So whaddya want?"

"Roy. Analyse."

He activated his manifestation.

"She's a warrior too. The manifestation is like an amplifier for her songs."

"I asked a question, you know?" Hitoiki tried to remind them, confused as to what was going on.

"I want you to join the hunter's guild. It's a strange manifestation, but it could be useful."

"Huh?"

Fallon gave the explanation about warriors.

"Oh, okay."

"Though I have one question first. I mean, I ask this to everyone anyways, but what do you seek revenge on?"

"Monsters."

"I guessed something like that, but what does a manifestation like this have to do with that?"

"I'm completely powerless. Can't do a thing myself. As much as I want to fight back, all I can do is play music. So at the very least, I just want to be of use in destroying them. That's about all there is to it."

Fallon seemed slightly surprised, but was pleased.

"That's perfect then. Join us, and we'll be happy to have your support."

"Sure thing."

The guild gained another warrior.

More time passed.

* * *

A strange hunter had shown up in a village nearby. After arriving, she'd immediately gone inside. After about a week of not emerging from her hut, one of the villagers had gone to check on her, finding her passed out. Upon trying to wake her up, they found she was impossible to even a reach. An invisible force slowed their movements down, preventing them from reaching her.

The warriors once again went to investigate.

They opened the door, seeing the woman still asleep.

"Roy."

He analysed.

"She's a warrior. Her ability seems to slow down everything around her. I suspect the reason it's surrounding her is because she can't control it while asleep."

"I see. Does that have anything to do with how long she's been sleeping for?"

"No. It seems like that's unrelated. I think she just doesn't want to bother waking up."

"...I see. Well in that case, let's take the easiest solution. Hitoiki."

"What?"

"Start playing as loud as possible."

"Roger."

The rest covered their ears to avoid being deafened. The performance went on for about fifteen minutes.

"How's that!?" Hitoiki yelled at the end, looking inside again.

There was no reaction. Hitoiki collapsed, disappointed.

"Is the manifestation capable of blocking sound?" Fallon asked.

"There's no reason it should be able to." Roy replied "Meaning that she's just really stubborn."

"There's no point waiting around." Musk cut in "Let's just force our way through. How about this!?"

He charged into the room at full speed, yelling at the top of his lungs. The moment he got through the door, his speed rapidly decreased, eventually reaching a near-stop.

"Looks like even he can't break through." Roy observed.

"I wanna go home." Lion thought.

"Well brute-forcing it is out. Lemme try something."

Space slash.

An invisible blade cut the bed in half without harming the one on top of it, causing her to crash into the ground.

She still didn't react.

"Seriously? ...Brute force it is."

Exceed. Second gear. Untouchable.

Through using a mix of these manifestations again, she was able to push through the invisible area of slowness, by speeding up enough to cancel it out.

She ran up to the sleeping woman and kicked her awake.

The manifestation deactivated almost instantly, causing Musk to crash into the wall where the bed was.

The woman looked around.

"Who are you people?"

"I'm Fallon Bachika. Leader of the guild."

"Oh."

She went back to sleep. Fallon quickly woke her up again.

"Why do you keep waking me up?"

"Because I'm interested in the power you've got."

"...What power?"

"You're not even aware of it?"

She explained what warriors are again, having to shake her awake every few seconds.

"Oh."

"Stay awake!"

"...Why should I?"

"Because I'm not done. I want you to join us."

"Don't want to."

"...Huh?"

"It sounds like a pain."

"...What do you seek revenge on?"

"Monsters, I guess. But it's a pain, so I can't be bothered, even if it bugging me all the time is also a pain."

"Then join us, and we'll help with that."

"No. I just said it sounds like a pain."

"...Think about it this way. The entire reason we were called here is because you can't control your manifestation, right?"

"I guess."

"So if you keep laying around with your manifestation out of your control, then more people will investigate, right? You'll be quite busy, as something that abnormal and all."

"Ah."

"So join us, and I'll help you learn to control it. In exchange for some work."

"Only a little work, right?"

"Yes, of course." Lied Fallon.

"It'd be a pain to refuse, so sure. You'll have to carry me back though, this is about the limit of how long I can stay awake for."

"Wait, before that. You didn't even give your name."

"Cause introducing myself is a pain, but I guess I have to now. Kara Kanap."

The guild reluctantly gained another warrior.

* * *

More reports. Mysterious flashes of light were spotted in the woods, blinding anyone who got near.

The guild assumed it had something to do with a Gypceros, so hunters were sent to investigate, but were unable to see anything due to the light. When they returned, they reported hearing strange yelling alongside the light.

The warriors went to investigate next, since this was clearly abnormal.

As they made their way through the woods, the flash of light appeared.

The entire group was blinded, followed by the yelling.

"BEHOLD, THE BEAUTY OF MY EXISTENCE!"

The man then started to run off. Fallon followed him by sensing his thoughts about his own beauty as he ran away.

Her sight cleared up again, around the same time he noticed she was still following him.

"Oh? What do we have here? A fan, perchance?"

"No. I don't even know who you are."

"Oh, so you've just taken an interest? Gol Platin. The sexiest man in the world. Feel free to join my fanclub anytime."

"You have one?"

"Not yet. But I could eventually."

"I don't think you're going to get much attention if you always run away."

"That's just to spread my beauty to as many as possible. There's no time to be wasted."

"Ok. I should just get to the point."

She explained about warriors again. Gol barely seemed to be listening.

"I see, but aren't you talking a bit much about yourself? You came here to see me, not sell me on whatever you were just talking about."

"I was about to get that, because I have a question for you. What do you seek revenge on?"

"Ugliness."

"That's way too ominous an answer." Fallon thought "Though he is an idiot, so nothing too bad should come of it."

"Would you be interested in joining the hunters' guild?"

"No. I'm far too busy spreading my own beauty."

"But… if you keep activating your manifestation all the time, no one's actually going to be able to see you."

Gol reacted with great shock, making it clear this possibility had never crossed his mind before.

"On the other hand, if you join us, I'm sure you'll get a lot of fame as a hunter."

Gol hunched over, thinking.

"I see. That might be a good idea…"

"It's not that it might be, it just is."

"Then I accept. Rejoice, for my beauty is on your side now!"

Another warrior was gained.

* * *

Yet again, there were reports of someone going around getting into fights everywhere. A woman with large glasses and a longsword.

The group approached. She turned to face them.

"Oh? There's a lot of opponents this time. Corra Fay. I'll be the one cutting you down today."

"We're not here to fight you."

"...Then what are you here for?"

She nodded at Roy, who analysed her.

Corra tried to slice at the manifestation before it reached her, to no effect. She looked over in confusion.

"What was that, just now?"

"She's a warrior, too."

"I see."

"Seriously, what was that!?"

"Stop being so loud." Roy replied.

"It doesn't have anything to do with you, idiot."

"Huh? It's my manifestation that you're confused by, of course it has to do with me, idiot!"

"Huh?"

"Both of you stop."

Fallon explained about warriors.

"I see. So my manifestation must be my countering. How interesting."

"So are you going to join us?"

"Hmm. I suppose it might be worth considering, if any of you are even strong enough to overcome my counters."

"Can't you be more original?" Roy asked "We've already done this set-up."

"That doesn't matter."

"Of course it does, otherwise it's just boring-"

"Stop arguing already, all that matters is winning!" Musk yelled, throwing a punch at her.

A second before it connected, the attack was stopped. A cut appeared across Musk's chest.

"Too predictable."

Musk felt his wound in confusion, before attacking again.

The attacks were stopped repeatedly. Despite his increasing injuries, his attacks continued, seeming aggravated.

"Stop." Fallon told him. "This isn't working."

She looked around, trying to work out if there was any way to overcome her manifestation.

She glanced at Lion, reading his thoughts.

"Oh god what the hell's with that ability? Is there even a way to overcome it? I wanna go home. Can I even read counters? My future sight doesn't factor my moves in, right? So… aghhhh-"

Roy tapped Fallon's shoulder, getting her attention.

"I've worked out a way to defeat the countering."

"Oh. That's surprising."

Roy stepped forwards.

Corra readied her blade. Roy just glanced backwards.

"Gol. Go."

"About time." The eccentric replied, before posing and activating his manifestation. A flash of light blinded Corra.

She stumbled around, waiting for her senses to recover. A gunlance lightly bonked her on the head.

"You didn't counter that. It's our win."

Corra didn't reply, she just slashed at him. He barely dodged. More slashes.

"Don't try to kill me cause you're mad!"

"I'm not mad, you just cheated!"

"You're totally mad! And it wasn't cheating, you never said it was illegal!"

"It was implied you had to be fair!"

"Implications are meaningless!"

"Ok, that's enough." Fallon said. She turned to Corra "Being fair is nice and all, but you should know it won't get you that far in the real world. You're seeking revenge like the rest of us, right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Fallon let out a mental sigh of relief that she didn't miss her chance to say her favourite phrase at this point. "What do you seek revenge on?"

"Monsters. My offensive skills are lacking, but if I can counter everything then I can win against them."

"Then you'll fit in well enough. Come and join us."

"...No. I refuse."

"Huh? Why this time?"

"I can't join a group that he's already part of, he's too annoying!" She pointed to Roy.

"Just get over it, you'll live."

"You need to present his head to me to convince me to join."

"That's really going too far here."

"No, I agree." Roy said.

"To dying?"

"No, not that part. I meant that she can never be allowed to join us. She's too annoying."

"...Then why did you fulfil her condition for joining?"

"That was just to knock her off her high horse. She's too full of herself."

"Bold of you to say that about others, does your analysis not work on yourself or something?"

"Do we not get to do anything at all?" Hitoiki asked. She looked to Kara for an answer, but she had already been passed out since the start.

The argument continued for a few hours, until Fallon finally managed to resolve things and get the Guild another warrior.


	24. 5-3, The Final One

Yet again, they got reports of someone going around getting into fights. A silent force of destruction that moved so fast no one could keep up.

The group of warriors went to investigate once more.

A very pissed-off looking midget approached them. An aura like the grim reaper.

She said nothing.

Fallon decided to speak after a few seconds of silence.

"So, are you the one going around fighting everyone?"

There was no answer. The midget drew her sword.

Fallon got ready to fight back, but before she could react the opponent was already right next to her, about to attack.

She ducked under the slash. The swordsman continued for a few seconds before stopping.

Roy analysed.

"Another warrior, to nobody's surprise. Her ability seems to pull her in the direction of her aura. It looked like teleportation, but that'd be impossible, she's just moving too fast to follow."

"I see." She turned to the attacker "Normally I'd ask you to join us and give you a bunch of explanations, but you don't seem to be the type to listen. Would it be better if we just got to the fighting?"

There was still no response. She scanned her thoughts.

"Deathkilldestroybleedannhilatevaporiseerasered-"

"Ok, that's too scary, so let's stop." Fallon thought.

Once again, Musk was the first to charge forwards.

The swordsman easily dodged around him, slashing at his back. He flinched, but managed to spin around and kick. This was also dodged.

More slashes caused Musk to fall back, unable to injure her.

Corra stepped in next. The attacker swung. Corra countered it perfectly, causing her to take damage. A cut appeared.

Annoyed, she looked down at it. A second later she disappeared. Corra spun around, but was too late to counter the attack.

Gol tried to attack next. The hunter charged forwards. He released a blinding flash of light. The hunter continued charging, swinging wildly, with no concern for the blindness. He was unable to get out of his pose in time to dodge.

The rest of the group stared at their opponent, feeling despair. Their gaze turned. One stood defiant.

Lion stood in place, unmoving. He stared his opponent down with blank eyes.

The attacker was offset by this, hesitating with her attacks for a moment. The rest watched.

"You're right…" Musk said "We can't just back off after a couple of scratches like this! Don't fear her! We'll keep fighting to the end!"

The rest roared in response.

"They seem fired up." Fallon thought "It's probably for the best that I don't mention he passed out standing up from fear."

Musk charged forwards once more, being dodged again.

More slashes.

Corra stepped in to attack, when her opponent did the same thing as before. However, this time was different.

Her movements slowed down. She turned, seeing that Kara had finally woken up.

The slowing wasn't that effective yet, but she was at least slow enough to give Corra time to turn around and counter the attack.

The rest of the hunters went to surround her, but she used her manifestation to escape before they could reach.

Hitoiki began to play, strengthening the others. Gradually, they became able to keep up with her.

The opponent was finally defeated.

"I'm surprised I didn't have to do anything." Fallon thought as she walked over. She spoke "You should get the difference in power between us now. It'd be for the best if you just submitted."

The attacker didn't respond.

"I don't think you're going to answer, but what do you seek revenge on?"

She scanned her thoughts, finding the same wishes for destruction from before.

"I guess that means she wants revenge on everything." She thought, before switching back to speaking. "If you join us, you can destroy all you want, so long as it's what I also want destroyed."

She was silent, but seemed to accept.

By going through records later, they guessed that her name was Morgan Tanashi, though she never confirmed whether it was true or not.

The guild gained its final warrior.

* * *

It wasn't as though Fallon never noticed there were others out there, but the ones she picked up were the ones without any connections, living aimlessly. The ones who were going around with their own ambitions were left that way, to see how they would develop on their own.

Some were lost, some disappeared completely. But for all of those, there were some that went exactly according to her hopes.


	25. 6, Prologue Conclusion

**0**

* * *

A single instant of simultaneous complete destruction. That which could be ordinary life was annihilated in just a moment.

Monsters swarmed the cities. No one knew where they came from, nor did they know how to fight back.

People ran. The monsters hunted them in the confusion.

A family ran from a pack of large ones.

One of them tripped, getting caught and attacked instantly. Another tried to fight back against them, but was powerless.

The last one left alive watched this, unable to move anymore.

The monsters finished eating and closed in on her.

Sudden intervention.

The monsters were cut to ribbons by an invisible blade. The user ran forwards, seeing he was too late.

He turned to the last survivor, seeing blue surround her.

* * *

**14**

* * *

The group of warriors charged towards the monsters.

The beasts howled, lashing out at them. The warriors jumped to the side of the attacks, before going to counter.

A flurry of manifestations versus monsters.

In the middle of it all, a girl charged at the enemy, with no ability of her own to speak of.

The monsters were felled, the group rested for the night.

"Fallon," The tall man with slicked back hair told her "You've gotta stop being so reckless."

"I'm a warrior too, y'know?" Fallon replied "You can't tell me what to do, Kay!"

"You're not much of one without a manifestation." Another voice added.

Fallon instantly started yelling back, while Kay just sighed.

"Getting into arguments again?" Another voice asked.

"What does it sound like, Lisa?"

"Fair point." She replied.

After the destruction of humanity, there had been a split. Those who wanted to rebuild, and those who wanted to avenge.

The ones who wanted to fight were by coincidence those who'd awakened as warriors.

For over a decade and a half, they'd been going around the world killing any monsters they encountered. They didn't know how many there were, but they knew they would be unable to rest until they were gone.

Lisa acted as a leader of sorts. Her manifestation was unbreakable, which made her aura reinforce her body like armour.

Kay wasn't really anyone so special. His manifestation was space cut, allowing him to cut anywhere within a certain range with an invisible blade.

"Are you really sure she's a warrior?" Lisa asked. "Well, it's a bit late to ask now, but after all this time she still doesn't have a manifestation."

"I've known she was one from the start. I'm the one who saw her awaken to it, after all. After I couldn't save her family…"

"Yeah, we all thought you were crazy when you told us that a kid was one of us. Well, you might still be, because who brings a kid to a quest for vengeance?"

"It's different if the kid's a warrior."

"But she's not like us. The manifestation thing aside, her powers seem weaker than the ones the rest of us have. She's also the only of us who seems to be aging."

"You keep bringing up questions, but I'm not really the one with the answers here."

"I'm not expecting you to know, I'm just wondering myself. Maybe it works differently for warriors who awaken as kids? Even though it's been this long, we still know barely anything about these powers. I'd like to find out more eventually, once we're done with all this."

"That's great and all, but my plans for once this is done is to just go back to how I was living before, so I'm good."

"Well, here's the thing about that. If we wanna get this done with, it'd be useful to have all our members fighting efficiently. So I need you to train her to be like the rest of us."

"Huh? Why me? I'm not even that good at fighting."

"I figured it'd be easier that way, since you two get along so well."

"...You call that getting along well?" Kay thought in response.

* * *

"Hey, Fallon."

The girl turned to face him, still seeming annoyed.

"Are you gonna lecture me again? I'm not interested. I'm already a fully grown adult now!"

"You're seventeen."

"...You counted? So that's how old I am now… no wait, that part doesn't matter, it's close enough to eighteen anyways! ...Right?"

"It is right, but you're not an adult until I say so."

"But you're never gonna. That's besides the point, it doesn't matter what you think!"

"I will, once you're mature enough. But that's besides the point too, it does matter what I think when I'm the elder here!"

"Like, barely."

"By thirteen years."

"You counted? But that's still insignificant compared to how the world's existed for thousands of years."

"And you've got no right to pull that card when you've existed for less than two decades."

"You've been around for less than three!"

"Three exactly, you mean. Who was even responsible for your education?"

"You were."

"Oh, I was. Wait, I'm getting sidetracked. That's what I came here for to begin with."

"I'm not learning anything, no matter how hard you try. Stuff like being able to read or count isn't relevant to a warrior, you know?"

"Why are you so proud about that? But fixing that can wait until later, for now I was gonna try to work out how to teach you to use your manifestation."

Fallon's eyes instantly lit up, brimming with enthusiasm.

"Let's go, then! Finally! You should've just said that from the start, idiot!"

"I guess she's still predictable in some ways…" Kay thought.

"All right, so to start, I guess we should even work out what causes it." Said Kay.

"You know?"

"Of course not. But hey, if we keep guessing we're bound to get it right eventually, right?"

"How reassuring."

"You think of something better, then."

"...Just give me your power."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because first off, I can't. And second off, even if I could that'd just make me useless in battle."

"Ah, so I'm useless..."

"No, that's not what I meant, it's just that I'm no good without my manifestation so I'd be complete and utter dead weight, unlike people who can fight without one like you."

"Well, when you put like that, you're not wrong."

"No, you were supposed to say that I am wrong. Why did I even bother helping you out?"

"Hm?"

"Never mind. So back to the point, manifestation is a unique ability that each of us has. It's not something we can just pass around, and it seems like we can't just copy the manifestations of others, so you'll have to work out what your own is. It's not something developed, more something natural."

"Hmm. That seems difficult."

"It is. So, lemme try this theory I came up with. What were your thoughts when you awakened to it?"

"That's difficult to remember. I mean, I was… uh…"

"Three years old."

"I'm not gonna bother with the 'You counted?' reaction anymore, if that's what you were hoping for. But thanks. As I was saying, I can't really remember. Why'd you even think of that?"

"Well, in my case, I can remember it clearly. What I wanted was to cut through anything in path. And in the end, my manifestation was a cut through space. I asked around, everyone who was willing to share had some vaguely similar thread. So if we can work out what you were thinking at the time, that'll give us a hint, right?"

"Hmm…"

She gave it some thought for a while.

"Nope. Unfortunately, I've got nothing."

"There's one other idea that might help your memory. I've never really brought it up with the rest though, since I'd rather avoid them working out who I'm talking about. If they did they wouldn't stop making fun of me until the end of time… You remember what video games were?"

"No."

"I can't really explain them to someone like you with no memory of civilisation. Well the main point is, the reason I specifically thought of space cut is cause I'd already seen a character who used a move like that. I wanted to be like him, I guess. Well more accurately, I wanted a power like that at the time. Don't mention that to the others though, I'm only telling you this because you have no chance of getting it. Back to the point, if you had anything like an idol or a hero, it'd help if you could remember them. Your manifestation might've come from them."

"...Nope, still nothing."

"I see. Well, that's all we can do about it. I've still got more ideas though. So second…"

They tried some other methods for a while. Not a single one worked.

An irritated near-silence, as both went "Hmmmmm" in sync.

"Ok, final attempt. What do you seek revenge on?"

"Huh? What kinda question is that?"

"Just answer it."

"The monsters that took everything away from us, of course. How does that help?"

"Then think of this next… how do you intend to do that?"

"...By getting stronger?"

"That's kinda vague, but maybe it'd work. Perhaps it's some kinda physical strength up power?"

"Isn't that boring?"

"You're the one who thought of it, not me. And yeah, it'd make sense if it was that unoriginal. A three year old thought of it."

"I guess. Damn you, three year old me. That leaves us without much idea though, doesn't it?"

"You're not even gonna try."

"I already have. I can't activate anything like that. Whatever my manifestation is, it's not that straightforward."

"Then yeah, I've got nothing else."

The irritated "Hmm"s returned.

"Wouldn't it be best if you just stayed off the front lines for the time being?"

Fallon's mood instantly shifted.

"This again!?"

"Yeah, it is."

"I can fight just fine!"

"Fine is debatable. If you wanna help out, then stay back until you've worked out what your manifestation is."

"I won't figure it out by doing nothing. I'm gonna keep fighting, regardless of how much you wanna stop me!"

She ran off, not letting Kay get a word in.

Another sigh.

"This is hopeless, she's not gonna listen no matter how I try to explain it."

He thought some more.

"It's not like it isn't my responsibility. I'm the one who convinced the others to bring her with us… I'm the one who made her awaken by not being quick enough to save her family. So I have to do something. Just right not now, though."

* * *

The next day, the group went into combat again. The monsters this time were even more fierce than the ones they'd fought previously.

Fallon charged forwards, predictably.

"Look out!" Kay cut at the monster's arm just before it reached her, throwing it off.

Refusing to acknowledge his help, Fallon continued forwards.

A stab attack at it. She continued wildly attacking. In response, the monster countered.

Kay wasn't able to save her this time, the strike knocked her back. Blood flew through the air.

Still, she stood back up. Fallon refused to go down, much to her own detriment.

The fight continued. Unable to undergo any great epiphany or awakening of power, Fallon struggled against her opponent.

Kay continued slashing furiously, but he was unable to protect her from harm.

Fallon was knocked down again. A set of claws approached her quickly, not allowing time to recover.

As predictable as it may have been, the claws never reached her.

Kay stood between them, taking the hit. The claws tore through his body, yet he didn't seem to care.

The only reaction the man showed was relief.

"Hmm. I guess an ending like this isn't too bad, if a little overdone. It's been a long fourteen years, hasn't it? Back then, before the destruction, I was no one. Just living life aimlessly. I thought that with the power I got during it, I could be a hero. But I couldn't even do that. I wonder why it is I got the others to bring you along with us. You probably would've had a happier life staying back there with regular humans, not ones focused on revenge."

His thoughts paused, confirming something.

"It was my own selfishness. I never gave up on trying to be a hero. I convinced myself I was the only one who could save you from being alone. All that changed was that I tried being an older brother. Not that was I good one, anyways. Yep, that confirms. I was good for nothing. A complete nobody."

He turned his focus to Fallon.

"At the very least, I want you to live on and become something. That's a good enough last request, right?"

With that silent final message, his eyes closed as he fell forwards. Fallon held his body, staring forwards aimlessly.

The monster roared. The rest of the warriors were busy dealing with the other monsters present.

Fallon's thoughts finally returned.

"I'm sorry, Kay. I should've been honest with you. The truth is, I remembered from the start. I just didn't want to admit it. Maybe I only really remember it now, though. You talked about having something like a hero. That wasn't a wrong guess. I just didn't want to admit it. I knew it, from that very moment. Monsters are strong. Too strong. My family was too weak, so they died. If I'm like them, I'll die. So in that moment, the one who came in and destroyed the monsters was what I had to be. I wanted to become like you. What I want… is your power."

The monster went for another attack.

Fallon looked upwards.

An invisible blade cut through it. The slash was too shallow. It appeared again. Repeatedly cutting, until nothing remained.

The rest finally took notice, surprised at the first death from their group.

* * *

"I see." Lisa said, after hearing what happened "I knew he was protective, but I'd never expected something like this. ...Oh yeah, don't be too hard on yourself over this. I know that it's difficult but… you shouldn't blame yourself."

"Don't worry, I won't."

"...Huh?"

"It's sad that he died, but he was satisfied. It was sort of what he wanted, deep down."

"...How could you tell?"

"I dunno. Just a feeling. Oh, but there's good news. I'm not going to be useless anymore, and we haven't lost much. That's because…"

A tree nearby was cut down instantly.

"I've got his manifestation now."

* * *

**1299**

* * *

The group of warriors continued on, fighting everything they saw. The monsters only got more powerful. Eventually, there were just two left.

That number was about to decrease even further.

"Looks like that bastard got me good…" Lisa muttered, looking at the blood on her hands. "Even my armour couldn't do a thing."

"So this is the end, huh?" Fallon asked.

She hadn't changed in the slightest since that day. Her existence was locked in at the moment Kay died.

"It is for me, but it's not all over yet. Not with your world. I'm just going there, is all."

"I guess that's true."

"Well from how you've described it, everyone must be waiting there, so it can't be that bad, right? Though it is annoying that I'm not going to live to see the end of this myself."

"Yeah. If only I was a little faster…"

"There's no point in regretting things. The only thing we can do is solve the problem. But that's all up to you now.. Mm. I'll pass it onto you. Our fight, and my role. You have to be the leader of the fight against the monsters now. Life won't return to normal until they're gone. So… I leave it… to you…"

With those final words, her eyes closed.

Fallon stood up. She felt the manifestation flow into her once more. Lisa's existence became absorbed into the world.

That left her without an idea of what to do.

"Hey, what should I do?" She asked the world.

"Gathering allies would be a good start. You can have all the power you want, but on your own you can only cover so much ground."

"Hmm… then in that case, I guess we should go check up on the ones who decided to rebuild. Haven't seen them in what… how long was it?"

"Over a millennium."

"You counted?"


	26. 0, Conclusion Prologue

A place unknown to space or time, that could only be defined as an existence of its own. The dead lined its walls, all staring upon the sole living being.

"Thus concludes all of the world's known history, our personal akashic records." The invisible voice told the man receiving the information.

The man was silent.

"Now that you've been presented with all of this, the question remains. What are you going to do with the information?"

"Lemme react a little first. I've gotta say, it's kinda scary how much you got in there. A lot for a guy to take in that fast."

"Did any of the stories catch your attention in particular?"

"Hmm. If I had to say, then maybe David and Allen's one. I mean, I knew that something bad happened, but I wasn't expecting something that disastrous. Not that I can't relate, or anything… Ah, maybe Aron's too. I mean, I just thought he was crazy until now. He still was, but knowing a bit about his past changed my perception a little at least."

"In any case, you should've realised."

"Realised what, exactly?"

"That all of these stories are the same."

"...Go on."

"Don't try to hide that you already know the answer. No matter who the actors are, no matter what stories they lead, there's a common thread between them all. Their ordinary lives, the things they hold dear, everything that could be considered important, are disrupted by monsters. Destroyed. Annihilated without thought or remorse. No matter what happiness they feel, it can be made to disappear in an instant by these beasts."

"Hmm. I suppose I can't prove ya wrong."

"So you already know what you have to do next. You will not be told, you need to say it yourself."

"Yep, I know. Until now… what I sought revenge on was that bastard. I figured if it was dead, then everyone would live peacefully. But that was just delusion. My scope was too narrow. At this rate, like ya said, things will just repeat. Everyone will lose everything at the hands of the monsters. So what I must seek revenge on…"

He paused, seemingly unsure as to whether he should finish that sentence. Like a door that once through he could never return. A decision was made.

"...Is this unjust world."


End file.
